Xophillyai Envoy
by Maria65
Summary: A newcomer has arrived in Aura Kingdom and Zaren instantly finds himself drawn in. Yet who is this newcomer and how strong is she? Also, what are Xophillyai? We're about to see a power that Terra has never seen before. Lua belongs to DarkMousySan, Zaren to me...rated T for some suggestive content and language. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"I think she's bored again." A woman whispered from her seat, gazing over at her queen who was gazing dully out a window in the throne room. "I think so too." The man across her replied shifting slightly. "Where do you think she'll go?" He asked, looking at the woman across from him. "Who knows…" The woman replied with a slight shrug. "there are so many places. I wonder what she'll bring back this time…" She wondered. A pair of mystic, otherworldly, golden eyes flicked over to the two servants sitting several feet away from the throne she sat in, one leg drawn over the other and she was leaning forward a bit. She wore a royal-blue, long sleeve, shirt with three buttons near the neck. She had on thin black pants and an open thigh short black silver frilled skirt and she wore a pair of light brown boots.

She was bored as they were saying, she wasn't sure she wanted to go anywhere though. That last world had been a mistake to go to, some ghost was killing people…along with a few others. Sachiko or something was the ghost's name; Lua had no plans of ever going there again. She let out a long sigh and brushed her long white hair over her shoulder, as it had fallen forward, as she leaned on the wide silver throne arm. Good heavens it shouldn't be possible to be this bored! Living for thousands of years though...boredom comes easy.

She stood from her throne, coming to her full, very tall, height and smoothed out her clothing which only slightly showed her perfect lovely hourglass shape and began to make her way through the large white marble throne room. She gazed at the walls and floor with a critical eye, making sure the changes were as they should be. There was a golden decoration on the walls with gems embedded into the wall matching with the gold. The deep crimson carpet looked to have been made recently…that wasn't necessary, she had asked for something finely crafted, not new. They didn't have to do all the extra work...at least it looked good.

The two servants stood quickly and bowed their heads to her as she passed, she waved a hand at them, silently informing them to carry out other duties as the throne room was fine the way it was. She kept walking, her destination was the library.

[~~~*~~~]

"Good evening Lady Lua, what are you looking for today?" Sulee asked behind the counter, leaning against it on her arms. "I'm not sure…training based things, skills getting better, beautiful, foreign, full of life and maybe...a monster of some sort." Lua said with a small shrug. "Hmm…well that is a lot to cover I hope you know." Sulee said rubbing her arm awkwardly. Why did Lady Lua ask for places like that? There was quite a lot. "It's fine," Lua said waving a pale hand. "I have time." She finished, laying her head on her hand as she waited.

Sulee sighed, nodding. "Okay, I'm warning you though, it's going to be a lot." She warned, turning to the back room and heading in to get what was needed. She came back out a few seconds later with a small box in her hands. "Here is all the basics, after your trip to Skyrim, I know to just give you these." Sulee handed her the box and watched her Lady head over to the sitting area to go through all she had been given. She'd have to call the kitchens to send up lunch and dinner, she hadn't been kidding when she said there was a lot.

[~~~*~~~]

As Lua read through the books for several hours, long past dinner time she couldn't decide where she wanted to go. There were just far too many places! They all sounded wonderful making it very hard. "Nope," She said sharply pushing away a book about a world that's power was based on necromancy. "Not even going to open that." She said, before looking at the pile. "Really?" She said in disbelief finding more books based around the power. "Shoo!" She hissed at the books shoving them away.

As the books fell from their pile, one slipped out from between two large ones and caught her eye. An eight pronged grey star rested on the cover, after a few seconds it turned to a rainbow colored star of the same design. "Hn...interesting." She gazed at it for a time then decided to quickly flick through the book to learn about what she was looking at.

An hour or so later she was asking Sulee for the main book the 'Secret Stones' came from, that was mentioned in the book. The next book she got was rather large and had the image of a blue glowing cube, it wasn't a perfect square as it had bumps and edges; though it was beautiful all the same. Even without being near the cube itself she could sense some kind of power...this was promising. She went back to the sitting area to read the large book; it took her around three hours to finish it and she was hooked on this place. She was going!

"How long will you be gone for my Lady?" Sulee asked just before Lua left. "Erm…" Lua herself wasn't sure. "I have no clue honestly." She said giving Sulee a sheepish look, making the woman sigh. "I'll be back when I'm back though!" She stated with a cheeky grin and took off. Sulee laughed softly to herself and shook her head at her queen's antics. She may be queen but she wasn't stuck up...nor did she have the expression that goes with 'having a stick up her butt'.

[~~~*~~~]

"...Again?" The male questioned "It's only been thirty years." The transport minder said as he gazed at his queen in surprise. "I get bored very easy, you know that." She said crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her boot covered foot. "I need to be doing something all the time." She stated, giving an annoyed expression to the transport minder.

The man sighed and waved toward the transport. "Alright then...you did tell your friends they were in charge before you came, right?" He asked, eyes narrowing, making Lua smile. "Yes Mr. Worry-Wart I did, now shoo, shoo." She playfully pushed him away, earning a snort and a chuckle. She pulled up the faded, glowing, blue-silver rimmed, screen for the transport.

 _"Welcome,"_ The computerized voice asked as it turned on. _"What is it you desire?"_ Several options came up, making Lua smile. Lua clicked all she needed to reach the place, then set in a specific location so as not to scare the living daylights out of any guards...or the queen of the area herself. Scaring the woman would not be a good way to start things off after all.

 _"Standby while preparations are being done, it shall be completed in 10...9...8…"_ As the voice counted down, the Transport Minder caught Lua's attention. "See you later Lady Lua," The Transport minder said gently. "You can handle pain and all but please avoid dying or losing limbs." He asked sincerely. She gave him a grin. "I promise nothing." She gave him a salute as the glowing white and blue rune circle appeared under her, then she was gone.

[~~~*~~~]

Everything was peacefully silent within the throne room of Aura Kingdom, as the Queen looked at a parchment that was given to her earlier that day. Her black hair was pulled into a long braid down her back, golden eyes skimming the words with boredom as her nails tapped against the armrest of her white chair. Her long light blue, trimmed white, dress fell down to her feet where blue heels were seen poking as her legs were crossed. A staff rested across her lap, the tip was shaped in that of a heart and it looked as though something was resided within the center. The staff itself was white and light blue, giving off a light blue glow that was barely noticeable yet if one were close enough, one would feel the power that radiated from the staff.

The Queen looked above her, staring at a blue glowing Cube that filled the room with warmth, despite the cold weather that had come in as winter closed upon them. The Cube wasn't a perfect square, it was jagged and bumps were here and there; though that was how the Cube was made. The sounds of something clicking against the dark blue marble floor caught the Queen's attention as she looked away from the paper's in her hand, seeing her husband walking in. "I thought you would be asleep by now, night is closing in." The man said, walking up the small flight of steps that lead to the chairs.

The woman smiled lovingly at him, her golden eyes lighting up with delight. "Is Marianne asleep?" The woman questioned, the man nodded as he leaned down to kiss her. "She is asleep Maria and so should you; the last few days have been rough with the power of demonic energy from Pandemonium running rampant." He warned and the woman, Maria, sighed. "I cannot Darius, I must stay awake until the problems are resolved, I got word from Rainmist Reach that demons have appeared again and are running amok." Maria stated as she showed him the parchment.

Darius scanned it before sighing heavily, rubbing his neck. "Shall I send Incediana and Alucard out tomorrow?" He asked, the duo having become quite the team ever since Incediana and Alucard confessed. "I would appreciate that." Maria confessed and Darius smiled before kissing her one last time. "Get to bed soon, I hate seeing you so run down." He admitted, receiving a nod from Maria, he left the throne room, the large white doors closing behind him.

Maria slumped in her chair a little, the dark blue cushion doing nothing to soothe her sore muscles; her gaze once again travelling to the cube as it glowed brighter and Maria's eyes narrowed and hardened. She straightened herself and lifted a hand, the cube lowering to float before her; closing her eyes she pressed her hand against the cube, a blue glow overcoming her as the power of Gaia rushed through her, allowing her to see everything that was happening within Terra.

Since having defeated Reinhardt and the demons less than ten years ago, she had been watching over Terra non-stop, making sure demons never rose to such power again. She had to make sure the people of Terra, her daughter and husband, her family, her friends were safe! She had to protect them at all costs...this even meant she would leave the castle to deal with problems herself. It was something the Eidolon's scolded her for; being almost thirty years old and still acting reckless.

As her friend, Commander Andre, had so 'lightly' put it though this usually resulted in Anya, Andre's own wife and a woman who was very much like a sister to Maria, to kick his ass for acting like that. _'I see...another power is coming here…'_ The Queen thought as she felt a shift in Gaian energy...it was faint...but it was there. Her Eidolon's; Sachi the cheery sylph, Saari the Champion of the Slain, and Quelkulan the miasmic serpent all appeared as they waited around the throne room.

Sachi was right beside her Queen, her teal eyes looking around as the shift in energy grew more noticeable. Saari was off to the far right, her long white hair held under a helmet as piercing blue eyes glance about with hostility. Who would dare enter the castle unannounced? Quelkulan was off to the far left, his long body staying off the ground as his giant wings flapped, yet no sound came from his position as he seemed to blend into the darkness of the walls as did Saari as the glow of the Cube dimmed. The four pillars that stood within the throne room, each having a smaller version of the cube dimmed their lights as well...in case this were a foe, the darkness would provide cover from the Eidolon's to protect their Queen.

[~~~*~~~]

Lua wasn't overly fond of the transport feeling, she couldn't describe it if she tried though...it was unpleasant. She felt what odd movement there was in the transport stop, the rune circle appeared under her, then she found herself facing a large gate with two guards in front of it that tensed upon her sudden appearance. One looked to be a woman with long red hair, matching red eyes wearing white armor with blue accents instead of the common gold one would expect; a large axe was held in her hands. A woman with long purple hair, wearing weird white armor with what looked like bladed wings was standing beside her...power radiated off the purple haired woman.

The other guard, who was male readied his sword and shield as he narrowed his eyes at her; his short, brown hair was unruly and his blue eyes were guarded. He was also wearing armor similar in design to the woman, except a red cape hung from his back; the sword he held seemed to glow a light blue color as energy sparked around him. Flames to his left caught her attention as she shifted her eyes, seeing a man appeared in the burst of fire; spiky white hair, red eyes, tanned skin all cloaked in white, red, and gold armor as a red scarf was wrapped around his neck. He lifted his hands, fire appearing as he readied himself should she be a foe.

"Who are you?!" The woman demanded, red eyes harsh as she tensed more, watching Lua for any suspicious movements. _'Perhaps I should have appeared further back…would have avoided scaring them…oops.'_ She thought sheepishly keeping her expression neutral. She lifted her hands slowly, making sure the guards and their…uh, companions, could see she had nothing. "I am not here as a foe I swear that to you, I have no weapons with me." She said, yet they stayed tense. "You can give me a look over if you wish, but I assure you I mean no harm to you, the queen or anyone else." She said calmly, keeping a soothing gentle tone, she kept her powers out of it; she wasn't going to force them to obey. She was here as a friend.

The two looked at one another before nodding, dismissing their companion's as the disappeared in a burst of sparks, the woman in a multitude of color and the male in fire-red sparks. "Anya will look you over, I shall watch to make sure nothing happens." The man said, teeth gritted as Anya put her axe away, but before she could move forward another powerful being appeared between the door right before the doors.

"Sachi!" Anya shouted startled, surprised to see the young Eidolon out of the castle. Sachi looked at them both before nodding. "Andre, Anya, return to your posts; our Queen has already sensed her arrival." Sachi said with a soothing tone, making the two guards relax before they sighed. "Alright, we shall open the gate," Andre said before fixing Lua with a narrowed gaze. "but the moment I hear even one single disturbance; you'll be answering to me, understand?" He questioned her harshly, his posture tensing again.

Lua cocked her head to the side, giving a tiny innocent grin. "Sure, I'm more than positive you'd enjoy that." She kept her tone neutral as she spoke, the hostility was expected but to such an extent? Perhaps she had come here at a bad time? If that was the case though all the more reason for her to be here.

As the large doors opened, Sachi motioned for Lua to follow her in which the woman did, the doors slowly closing behind them. Sachi lead Lua through the city, it was beautiful! White concrete ground, shops lined everywhere as did houses, gardens and fountains littered the city as well; lamps outlined the path's and everything was labeled as maps were throughout the city. Then again with how big it was there was no surprise, she noticed a large building off to the side, surrounded by willow trees and pillars; a cross was on the front as stained glass shown to all...a bit of power radiated from the building. A place of worship.

"I ask you forgive Anya's and Andre's hostility," Sachi began, catching Lua's attention. "there has been many problems arising lately and we are all on guard." She said, floating toward a large structure that was partially hidden by pillars and trees. "We have been getting attacked by demons lately and a rise in demonic energy has weakened our Queen, causing her great stress. Yet she had sent me to see you to her throne room; we felt your arrival as though it was a wave." She explained as they walked up a small flight of steps to the doors leading to the castle.

 _'Demons? I read something about them being here…I thought it was taken care of though. Or did I read wrong?'_ Lua thought following the Eidolon, making sure she didn't stray no matter how badly she longed to explore. The castle itself was large, pure white on the outside with what looked to be hardened oak doors that were well maintained, the lower floor windows were stained glass, yet it seemed the second and third floors were plain windows, yet all the lights were off signalling those within were asleep. Sachi knocked a few times before the doors opened silently and they walked in, the doors closing behind them.

The lobby of the castle was beautiful, six pillars on each side with a small Cube, like those Lua saw on the book, was upon each pillar emitting a faint blue glow. A staircase on either side curved to the second floor as another case above that curved to the third floor. To the left and right were hallways and upon looking, a door was at each end...though there was a wonderful scent coming from the right. If Lua had to guess...it was the kitchen. Before them, straight ahead was a large, long hallway where a red carpet lead from the center of the lobby all the way down to what Lua believed to be the throne room; though the red contrasted against the blue of the castle. The walls all reflected a blue, glowing light yet she could tell the floor was white marble but with the blue light coming from the small cubes the floor gave off a blue glow as well.

"Follow me." Sachi said gently, catching Lua's attention as she followed the Eidolon, she'd have to get decorating tips from the Queen later for her own palace. Maybe the servants could learn a thing or two from this place?

As they reached the end of the hallway, once again two large oak doors were before her and as Sachi knocked, they opened as they entered. In the throne room, it was equally as beautiful as the carpet extended only until the doors. In the center of the throne room stood a circular platform, a flower was inscribed upon it with runes lining the edges in a language that was lost in time but not to the Queen nor the Eidolon's. Behind the platform, up just three steps sat whom she knew was the Queen; whom was very beautiful, those books hadn't done her justice!

Her black, braided hair looked soft and shone with life as she was obviously still young, not yet reaching her thirties; as the white and blue dress fit her perfectly. The shoes that she barely saw were well polished and shone as the staff that was across the Queen's lap pulsed lightly with a blue glow. She noticed a small tiara upon the Queen's head as well as some other jewelry...yet she could tell the Queen had no taste for such gifts. She must wear them for formality when meeting new people.

"Hello new comer, and welcome to Aura Kingdom." The woman began before she stood and bowed respectfully. "My name is Maria, I am the Queen of Aura Kingdom and the Eidolons, one of whom just escorted you." Maria stated as Sachi floated over to her Queen, before she stood beside her, allowing her feet to touch the ground.

Looking up, Lua saw the Cube and she could feel the immense power from the cube. While it could very likely destroy and bring chaos currently it felt like a warm, pleasant embrace. Maria noticed her gaze and smiled warmly, gold eyes soft as she noticed this woman truly meant no harm. Suddenly the cubes on top the four pillars within glowed brighter, giving light to the area, these glowed more white than blue yet the shimmering of blue still reflected off the walls from the Cube floating above Maria. That's when Lua noticed the two Eidolon's that were off to the sides that were originally cloaked in darkness; she had felt their presence and had seen them, she understood their caution though.

"May I ask who you are?" Maria asked as she tilted her head slightly, eyes curious. "Firstly…how should I address you? Formal or non-formally?" Lua asked politely, Maria smiled. "Non-formal, I have no patience for formality." Maria responded with a chuckle at the end, her posture was friendly and her tone gentle, showing she was open to them being friendly.

"Well I have come from an…well a hidden world called Xophillya." Lua explained. "My name is Lua, I am the world's Queen. I got bored and decided to come here." She said with a minor shrug, smiling. Maria seemed surprised at what she had said...bored? "You were simply...bored?" Maria questioned, gold eyes curious as she tilted her head. "Well…" Lua started crossing her arms and looking up at the ceiling. "See, I've lived for a couple thousand years and have been through and done most everything…a human world has to offer, so I come to other worlds that are...more interesting. I don't have a whole lot of work to do for my people, as I fixed a lot of problems and got more shops and buildings made just a week after I took the throne." Lua explained, looking back at Maria.

"I mostly only get reports on how everything is going and being handled, of course there are requests for things now and again but it's rather rare, as I took care of most everything as soon as I started. So yes," She lifted her hands and gave a wide full shrug. "I go places when I'm bored. Also I'm not very fond of sleeping around when I'm bored, gets things complicated." She responded, yet this intrigued Maria as she chuckled and smiled a little.

"I see." Maria said as the platform Lua was standing on suddenly began glowing, the flower seemed to move upward almost ghostly yet a warmth spread through her body. Suddenly the glowing ceased and they heard doors outside the throne room open. "What I did just now was seeing how pure you are; as Queen of Eidolon's, it is my duty to make sure that Eidolon's find a proper Envoy. The reason I did this to you, despite the fact that you are not from Terra, nor Gaia, is because of the simple reason that you would not be allowed to leave Aura Kingdom without an Eidolon to guide you." Maria said as a small ball of fire came flying in before stopping beside Maria and a small brown and yellow dragon was beside her.

"The reason I check to see how pure one is, is because I have had to…'deal' with certain Envoy's...those that have turned to darkness." Maria said and Lua noticed the deep sadness within the golden eyes. "I have had to eradicate them, purifying their soul to allow them to go into the afterlife with nothing holding them back to keep them in the world of the living." She explained, before looking at the Eidolon's gathered. "As for the Eidolon's...if I can, I save their soul and purify it...other times, I've had to destroy them and use the Cube of Gaia to resurrect them...though I hate having to do such things." Maria stated, voice cracking a little...it physically pained her to do things of such nature.

Lua regarded her a moment not detecting falsehood in her words. Good thing she hadn't, she might have turned and called the transport to leave. Necromancy in any form was something she hated…resurrection sounded like a kinder word, more often than not it was the same thing, but here…that didn't seem to be the case. It was still too close for her liking though. "...So am I going to be bound to an Eidolon?" She questioned confused, deciding not to keep such dark thoughts for now. "I don't know very much about this world. I only learned basics before coming here." She explained.

Maria nodded in understanding. "Yes, you will be having an Eidolon while you are here, the binding is different than what most think though. Some think binding means sharing pain, emotions, thoughts...that's not how an Eidolon bond is though. For Eidolon's, they simply give their Envoy a key and upon accepting the key; the two are bound through a connection of friendship that forms the more they fight alongside one another." Maria explained as the small dragon beside her, Leonus, nodded.

Lua gazed at the dragon and nodded. _'So not at all like a power bound then…perhaps for the best. I doubt any Eidolon could go through the same things I can and still live even if I do.'_ She thought. "Okay, I have no problems with this. Well…just what about food for him? The books I read were not all too clear." She asked, a little concerned for the dragon.

Maria smiled and snapped her fingers, materializing in her hand was a small blue crystal that slowly grew bigger as it seemed to take on a different shape with each growth, before finally turning rainbow colored as the crystal stopped growing in size. "These are called Eidolon crystals, monsters here on Terra drop them and they can be used to feed the Eidolon. Eidolon's don't really consume food, they gain their energy from these crystals; that is all they will need." Maria said before she handed the crystal to Lenous, who devoured the crystal eagerly.

"As to bind to him, all he needs to do is give you his key." Maria said as Leonus flew toward Lua and in his outstretched claws was a small key that was gold in color with small dragon wings off to the side. "All you have to do is accept the bond and he will be bound to you." Maria said as the key began to glow. Lua nodded and gently took the key accepting the bond without having to say a word. She felt the change instantly and noted resistance in her powers. Well that was new. She forced her powers to open up to the bond which took a few minutes.

"That was odd…" She said touching her chest where her powers were coiling. "That hasn't happened before; I'm fine though don't worry, seems it worked." Lua said before rubbing her neck. "But ah...what do I do now? I don't know my way around this world and I work best with a guide. Also I read about classes, how would I go about picking one? What are all of them and the skills they come with?" She asked, before sighing. "Just basics will do. Like I said, I only learned some basics not a lot." Lua said holding an arm out to the small dragon which landed on her arm and got comfy. How… cute. He was like a large bird sitting like that.

Maria smiled softly and a small, miniature cube appeared before her; as Maria touched it she said a few words before the small cube took flying off, whizzing past Lua as it exited the castle. "I have that taken care of." Maria said softly before she stood and walked down the steps, standing before Lua. "I suggest getting some sleep, your guide will arrive tomorrow morning. He's been an Envoy for a few years and will teach you what you need to know." Maria said, motioning for Lua to follow her as they left the throne room.

"As for the battle class you will choose, I will have my mother see which would work best for you before I have the Blacksmith, Analisa, forge you a weapon suitable enough for an Envoy." Maria stated as they went up the stairs that were in the lobby, appearing on the second floor. They took a right down a hallway and Lua noticed it was just like the rest of the castle, white walls that shimmered with a blue glow due to the Cube's power surrounding the place. Each doors was made of hardened oak wood, being a dark brown color with a golden knob for each door.

Maria stopped before one of the doors and opened it, inside was a decently made room. A white bed with blue sheets, white fluffy pillows, a window was on the opposite wall of the door with a desk to the right of the window. Across from the bed, that was in the center of the room against the right wall, was a brown, decorated gold wardrobe with a small dresser beside it that had a mirror attached to it. She also noticed a door beside the dresser and, as the door was opened, noticed it was a small personal bathroom.

"This is where you'll stay while within Aura Kingdom," Maria commented with a smile, walking into the room with Lua. "I'll have my friend, Akane, wake you when breakfast comes around. After breakfast, that's when the guide should arrive and when I'll have my mother see which class would work best for you." Maria said before giggling.

"Usually, I'd have Andre choose a class for new Envoy's but as you're not of this world, my mother would be a better option when it comes to choosing." Maria explained before she headed to the door to leave. "I hope everything is to your liking, Lua." Maria said, looking at her with soft gold eyes. "It's fine." She replied with a smile. "In fact I don't need fancy rooms or anything, heck if you ever wanted to visit Xophillya you'd be surprised at how plain most of the rooms and homes are. We only went all out with the palace." Lua finished as she looked around the room.

Maria chuckled a little at her response. "Most of the rooms in the castle are like this, my mother stated a Queen should live like a Queen and went about decorating the entire castle." Maria finished, smile soft. After they exchanged a few more words, the two bid goodnight before parting ways as they went to bed; awaiting the sun's rays to awaken them. Before sleeping, Lua sent a message home to tell her friends she had arrived and would likely be away for a few months or maybe a year if things took a great deal of time. Once finished with the message and had sent it, she then lay down and went to sleep.

[~~~*~~~]

As the morning light from the sun enter Lua's room, an over-energetic knock came to her door followed by a muffled voice, asking if she was awake. "Depends greatly on what time it is." Lua mumbled in response burying her head under the pillows. In response to hearing a voice, the door suddenly opened even though Lua could've sworn it was locked last night. "So, you must be Lua." The voice of a female said, smiling brightly at her. The girl looked to be a little younger than Maria, probably by just a year or two; long straight white hair reached her waist with bright red eyes; she was wearing red armor that had black trimming yet it looked to be made of leather and was unrestricting.

A pair of short swords were at her hips; showing Lua this girl dual-wielded, the duelist class she believed was what the book said. "Rise and shine! Breakfast is being made as we speak and it is time for you to get up and start the day!" The woman cheered a little before walking over and slowly opening the blinds to the window. "Maria has informed me of what is going on and your guide has already arrived as well." The woman, whom Maria had told her last night was Akane, smiled brightly at her before going back to the door. "We expect to see you in the dining room within a few minutes." Akane said cheerily, before running off, disappearing down the hall.

"...I never did get the time." Lua said with a soft laugh resting an arm over her eyes. "Ah well, up I get." She stood from the bed pushing the blanket back then carefully redid the bed so it looked as it did before slept in it. She performed a minor cleaning spell on herself making a shower and change of clothes unneeded then headed for the door, it would be rather rude of her to not show up for breakfast after all. "Erm...wait…" She recalled how much taller she was than…well everyone here and quickly shrank. She went down a few feet before she stopped. She was likely around Maria's height now; much better.

As she entered the dining area, in which Leonus showed her the way, she noticed a lot of people were here that she was not expecting. Anya and Andre, the two she meet at the gate yesterday were there; enjoying some small chatter, a young girl sat in Anya's lap with short brown hair and red eyes. A man with slightly unruly black hair and bright blue eyes was sitting to the left of Maria, who sat near the end of the table. She also had a small girl sitting on her lap who had somewhat long black hair and bright blue eyes matching the man, she was wearing a small blue dress that shimmered like the Cube that was floating above them.

The white haired duelist who entered her room, Akane, sat next to the man and was currently chatting excitedly with a black haired woman who had forest green eyes. The woman had a bored expression on her face as she looked away from Akane to look at her food, doing her best to ignore the white haired woman next to her. A scythe was strapped to that back of her chair...dark magic radiated from the scythe yet the intentions were good...she summoned demon's though.

Others she didn't care to try and know everyone's name were along the table as well; when Maria saw her, she smiled and waved Lua over to take the seat next to her in which she did. "Did you sleep well last night?" Maria asked, smiling brightly at her, the little girl in her lap looked at Lua; eyes wide in awe. "I slept very well thank you." Lua said with a grin. "And you?" She asked cocking her head a bit. It was always good to be polite, her mother made sure she and her sister knew that before she passed away.

Maria smiled in return, golden eyes shining with happiness. "I slept well as well, thank you for asking." Maria replied, before looking up at the Cube. Unlike last night, the walls showed their natural white color, it seemed the blue glow of the Cube was restricted to just within its own confines, the light from the sun outside shown through the windows, giving them all the light they needed.

"Your guide is currently with his Eidolon, trying to get her to understand that he is helping you." Maria bit her lip, a habit of nervousness. "Muse can be a little...envious of others, I guess to put it lightly." She finished before the doors opened. "Sorry if I'm late, took a while to calm Muse down." A male's voice echoed as his footsteps echoed in the dining hall. "You're late Zaren!" Andre bellowed out suddenly, making some of the people at the table jump; even Maria. "Andre, shush!" Anya scolded him, glaring at him a little. "You don't want to upset Arianna or Marianne, do you?" She warned and he paled as he instantly silenced himself.

The man, Zaren, laughed at Anya's remark and her ability to keep Andre tame; his laughter light and hearty, making some of the others chuckle or smile in return. Zaren looked to be a decent man; spiked black hair, dark red eyes and slightly tan skin matched his red and white clothes, something Lua noticed was something a noble would wear. While it was noble dress and he did have the air of one… something about him nearly screamed 'No!' She couldn't tell what, perhaps he wasn't fond of having a title? Or his family had tried to push him to do things he was unwilling to. She'd find out in time, after all they'd be spending a lot of time together.

Maria smiled, shaking her head at Andre's antic's towards his templar's before she stood to formally greet Zaren. "Hello Zaren, it has been some time since you've last been within the walls of Aura Kingdom." Maria greeted, before humming. "Two years if I'm not mistaken, correct?" She questioned and Zaren smiled softly. "More like almost four years...but close enough." He replied as he made his way over to Lua's side of the table, before he bowed to Maria, showing his respect. "Though it is good to see the Queen again." He commented and Maria chuckled, always a gentleman. Zaren turned and locked eyes with Lua, his red clashing with her gold before a soft smile spread across his face.

"You must be Lady Lua, correct?" He questioned, reaching a hand out to shake. "Yes," She replied taking his hand. "A pleasure…I assure you." She said with a none too innocent smile. Zaren smirked at seeing her smile and her looks. She was rather beautiful in his eyes; long white hair, mystical other worldly golden eyes, fair skin wearing a royal blue, long sleeve shirt; black pants and an open thigh, short, black-silver, frilled skirt with light brown boots. Clothes fit for travel, he thought as he looked her outfit over. He smirked at her one last time before sitting down in the open seat beside her, leaning his head against his palm.

"Lua, I would like you to meet Zaren Akitash; he's been an Envoy for a few years so he knows a lot about what it means to be an Envoy." Maria said before she handed Marianne to the man, before leaning down to pick up the bag that was beside her chair. "Inside this bag are a lot of items you will need for the journey; things like potion's, Eidolon Crystals and a scroll to instantly teleport you back here to Aura Kingdom." Maria said as she handed the bag to Lua. "The scroll can be used as many times as you need, so you don't have to worry about anything happening to it. There's also a small pouch within that has some money that you may need, the Aura Kingdom symbol is etched onto the bag; show it in any Inn and you'll gain a room free of charge." She explained, her smile soft as she took Marianne back from Darius.

Lua was about to thank her for her kindness when a loud ringing sound emitted from her. "Really?" She said in disbelief flicking up a message screen. "Erm…sorry just give a second." She said to Maria then looked to the screen. "Something better be on fire you hear me?" She said sharply to one of her young friends. Of all the times to need to call her. _"Um…I wish it was…"_ She said sheepishly. _"Are you in the middle of something?"_ She asked wringing her hands. "I am but if it's important I need to know." Lua said waving a hand for her to speak. _"Um…well…I'm not sure who to ask without getting laughed at…"_ She started concerning Lua instantly. _"In regards to the month, what do I-"_ Lua quickly muted her before the words got out all the way as she realized what the poor girl was about to ask her.

She turned back to her...audience real quick. "Pardon me a moment this seems to be a private matter." She put up a privacy ward then began to tell the the young teen what she needed to buy for her…monthly problems. Lua cleared her throat as she sent the message screen away and pulled the ward down. "Sorry about that. Thank you for the supplies Maria." She said with a grateful nod. Maria chuckled a little, understanding the need for privacy...and also able to read lips, she had a good idea what it was about.

Looking over at Darius, his face was a little flushed as he kept it between his hands, his daughter poking his cheek trying to gain his attention. "You're welcome Lua, it's not a problem; I hate having my Envoy's unprepared for a journey and it's always nice to have them start off with something." Maria explained as she leaned back in her seat a little. The doors from the kitchen suddenly opened and Maria smiled as the waiter's came bringing food in. "Now let us enjoy the meal the chef's have prepared for us." She stated as the platter's were placed on the table.

Breakfast went by with a lot of chatter, excited exclaims and some squealing from the two little girls in the room as they ran around tagging one another. The Eidolon's joined in the chatter, sometimes getting into arguments with their brethren; Maria even had to calm the Dragon Tyrant, Alucard, down when he transformed into his dragon form; trying to provoke Quelkulan into fighting him. All she knows was it was about who was the better dragon...she didn't want to get between it until he transformed.

As breakfast neared it's end, Maria lowered the Cube a little, allowing it to float directly above her as she touched the surface. A ripple spread across the surface she touched as the Cube glowed, giving the dining room a blue tint before the glow receded as did the blue tint. "Calling your mother?" Akane questioned, tilting her head in which Maria nodded. "Yes, I believe now would be a good time for Astraea to see what weapon would best suit Lua." Maria commented when a gold flash happened behind her.

Looking behind Maria, even as the Queen turned, the Guardian Goddess, Astraea, appeared before their eyes; her long blonde hair fell well past her waist, bright blue eyes shining with life and happiness. She wore a white dress with gold and red accents, some of her hair was braided while she wore a headpiece that had wings to the sides. A lance and shield slowly faded away as she dropped to the ground; her white heeled boots clicking against the white marble floor.

"Hello everyone, how are you all?" Astraea questioned, receiving various greetings of 'doing well' or 'perfect'; some even bowed to her, even Maria herself. Astraea frowned at such formality. "Maria, how many times do I have to tell you?" She began, placing her hands on her hips. "You are my own daughter, there is no need for you to bow to me, nor should the rest of you; I am a friend and I am family. Formality with me is unneeded." Astraea stated as she folded her arms; giving a soft yet stern look to them all.

Lua had very rare occasions where she couldn't speak. Those times were: In fury that no words could describe and a great deal of shock. Right now it was shock. She could swear she was looking at angel and could honestly say even with all her years she'd never seen one before. She had no idea what to say to the lovely woman. Astraea seemed to notice Lua's lack of words and looked at her, a soft smile replacing her stern look as she walked over, standing before her.

"You must be Lua, I heard a great deal about you from Maria last night before slumber took her." Astraea said before she lifted Lua's chin up, getting a good look at her. "Yes...I see a gentle soul within, a fire that is unable to be dowsed," She commented, before closing her eyes, smile still in place. "...and I believe the bard would work better for you; you are a ruler as well, supporting others is what you do best." Astraea said before she opened her eyes and removed her hand.

"I believe she would make an excellent bard." Astraea said to Maria, turning to look at her daughter. "A bard, eh?" Maria questioned to herself, smiling a little. "B...bard?" Lua finally managed and quickly focused on Maria so as not to get her thoughts scattered by looking at the angel look alike. "They…are a healer type right?" She asked. The books had only given her so much info so she had to ask to be certain. "Yes, they are; supporting their allies from afar but they are also able to dish out some attacks so as to keep the enemy at bay. They aren't entirely helpless." Astraea stated before she snapped her head up and looked out the window.

"Mother?" Maria questioned, noticing her mother's reaction, yet she was also tense. "Did you feel that as well?" Maria asked Astraea, who nodded. "I did...an Envoy has been murdered." Astraea said and everyone noticed a flash of pain pass through Maria's eyes, right as a small crystal fell from the Cube, floating before Maria.

The crystal was red with what looked like a Chinese fan etched into it, gold swirls also decorated the crystal seeming to glow with warmth. Maria grabbed the crystal, face pained as though she felt what the Eidolon felt shortly before their death; tears slowly ran down her face as she clutched the crystal, it slowly transformed into a key. "Diao Chan?" Darius questioned and Maria nodded, head lowering in sadness. Everyone went silent, looking at one another with sad eyes, sometimes holding the others hand or whispering in the others ear. Something was definitely going on in Terra that needed fixing, that much was certain.

"...What happened?" The black haired woman, whom she heard Akane call Hiyami, questioned. "Diao Chan and her Envoy were fighting a horde of demons just south of Silent Ice Field, but they were surrounded when suddenly the demons all fused together and struck with power rivaling a Overlord." Maria explained and Hiyami flinched, hearing the venom behind Maria's words...talking about Overlords was a sensitive topic. "They were killed?" Zaren questioned, his voice somber as he looked at his hands; how many more had to die before the demons stopped? "Yes...I shall revive Diao Chan from her slumber tomorrow...for now, she needs to recover within the Cube." Maria said as she lifted the key toward the Cube, it slowly disappeared within the Cube, it glowed before the glow receded once more.

Lua gazed around the room at everyone easily noting the mood change; a death would bother anyone but considering who Maria was, it would strike her the most. Demons though…she had dealt with a few in her time, it was never a fun or easy fight. The word Overlord though…high rank clearly, with high ranks came great power as well. "Demons have been a problem for a while then?" She asked needing information to understand how she could help. "What can be done?" She asked, looking at Maria who sighed.

"Demons have been around since Terra was created and, centuries ago, they learned how to manipulate Envoy's to allow them access to Terra." Maria said as she lifted her head slightly. "Upon their manipulation, the Eidolon's who watched over Terra decided it was time to fight these demons and teamed with humans to be able to fight the demon's off. Since the beginning of time, we've been in constant battle with them." Maria said monotonously, and everyone noticed her eyes had changed to a blue color, but they were glazed over, almost like she was possessed but the bright glowing of the Cube made realization dawn on Astraea.

"The Cube is granting her that information." She mumbled, yet they all heard. "What can be done?" Zaren repeated Lua's question, unsure if Maria heard or not. Maria looked at them, her eyes shimmered the same way the Cube did, obviously showing she was not herself. "The only thing one can do is to battle them, send them back through whatever rift they came through and destroy the rift. An Eidolon is the only one who can close the rift but they need a human to be with them as to manifest in our world." She finished, voice still neutral.

Suddenly the glow faded and Maria's golden color came back but they were still glazed; she swayed in her chair and toppled to the side but Astraea caught her. "Maria?!" She exclaimed, worried for her daughter's health. Her face was flushed as her breathing was labored...and that's when they noticed the dark bags under her eyes...she had been losing sleep. Jeopardizing her health to make sure the rest of Terra would be fine...she certainly was one hell of a Queen.

Lua frowned, she understood the desire to keep one's people safe. She did but one could not push this far…no human could anyway. Xophillya didn't need to sleep if they didn't want to, they also didn't need food or drink; it was mostly for pleasure that they partook of it. "I think we can all agree that Maria needs to rest for a while. As for the demons… is there no way to seal them off? A door can be opened and closed yes, destroyed also yes but as you've said doors come again. The best way to keep more away is to make a seal that can't be opened easily or at all once placed." Lua knew a few seals like that but she'd rather not use them, it'd likely freak them all out if she did. To keep demons away though? Maybe it would be worth it.

Astraea was silent before she gave a heavy sigh and stood, Maria in her arms; when Saari came over. Astraea handed Maria to Saari and Saari left before she looked at them all, she seemed hesitant to speak. "The only way to seal the demon's of Pandemonium is to use Gaia's blood as the seal." Astraea stated and Akane's eyes widened. "Gaia's blood? How is that possible? Gaia's a planet, not a person." She responded, earning a smack upside her head from Hiyami, who told her to shush. Astraea shook her head, telling Akane she was mistaken. "Gaia is named after the first Eidolon that ever existed, Gaia the Mistress of Eidolons...Maria is a direct descendant of Gaia, despite being my daughter." Astraea said as she crossed her arms and sat down in the chair Maria once occupied.

"What do you mean Goddess Astraea?" Andre questioned, blue eyes curious. "What I mean...is Gaia is the only one who can seal the demons away-!" Astraea was interrupted as Akane stood once again. "Then let's go find her!" She exclaimed but Astraea sighed. "But she's dead...been dead for centuries. That's how the demon's found their way unto Terra in the first place, her seal on their door had weakened so much that they were able to slowly break it open. But without her blood, we are unable to seal the doors again." Astraea said when Zaren spoke.

"How much blood is needed to seal the rift forever?" He questioned and Astraea paled, lowering her head. "To seal Pandemonium forever...it would cost the life of the sealer. And in this case, as Maria is a direct descendant with the blood of Gaia coursing through her veins...Maria would have to sacrifice herself to seal the door. As only Gaia's blood can seal it permanently." Astraea stated and everyone began to argue, stating Maira had sacrificed enough, what more could be asked of her?!

"Dumb thing to say I think but why not just place some of her blood there every so often to keep the thing closed?" Lua asked confused. She'd keep some ideas she had to herself, no one in the room would like it even if she herself didn't care one way or another if she went through with that plan. "A trip to give blood every year or three years? Wait how long do humans live here? I've heard it being different in some places." Lua added as she was aware that even if that plan of giving blood now and then worked once Maria died… if she did die her child (if the blood continued that far) would then have to do it too. It would go on like that until the royals finally died which…wasn't a nice thought but there was nasty humans out there who would want that.

"Maria's the last descendant of the bloodline...Marianne has no blood of Gaia within her, despite her being Maria's daughter. Human's don't live very long." Astraea answered before she sighed and stood. "The only thing we can do now is keep fighting until we find the real rift and close it." Astraea said before she disappeared in a flurry of gold sparkles. "Hmm, there went that plan then." Lua sigh with a sad sigh. What was she expecting though? There was always something wasn't there? No matter where she went she always arrived during a bad time.

So far Skyrim took the cake on bad time but there were still worlds out there. "Well, while Maria rests what shall the rest of us do? I'm not one for sitting around and waiting, I'll help in any way I can." She said firmly determined to assist. Taking that as his cue, Zaren stood and motioned for Lua to follow him. "Then it looks like I'll take you to Analisa to have your weapon prepared, believe me; she's a good blacksmith." Zaren said with a smirk, leaving with Lua. "...A harp made by a smith? They're made of metal?" She asked in disbelief as she followed the man.

[~~~*~~~]

A few hours later and after a lot of cheering from the pink haired blacksmith, a beautifully made harp now lay in Lua's hands. It looked like most harps, half of a heart with finely made strings but while the harp itself was made of silver, a line of blue wrapped around it with faded blue swirls within the silver that glowed softly when the sun hit it just right. The strings, when plucked gave off a blue glow as a melody rang from it...was this made from the Cube of Gaia itself? "I used the best minerals I had for the harp you hold, made of Miracle Crystal and some power from the Cube of Gaia itself!" Analisa exclaimed, smiling at Lua.

"Truly?" She asked giving the harp another look over. While she wasn't fond of the girly half heart shape she could easily see now the power from the cube. "I'm guessing only the queen knows but… what are the powers of the cube? I would love to try something with the harp real quick without using my powers but I'll need an answer to my question first." Lua said holding the harp close against her body, fingertips resting idly on the strings ready to start strumming and plucking.

Analisa hummed, not sure how to respond, for even she wasn't truly aware of all the powers the Cube had. "Well, I know the Cube has the power of resurrection, power to stop time, power to reverse a short period of time...pretty much the powers of God." Analisa stated as she placed her hands on her hips, thinking of what the Cube could do. "...That's it? Nothing special?" She asked confused. She was sure that was to confuse them after all what was better than that? Lots of things really, what the greedy, selfish and power hungry would kill to have that kind of power Lua was interested…in other things. "You sure that's it? I'll have to use my powers if so." She said lightly tapping the strings.

Analisa shrugged, not sure what else to say. "I know it allows people to see the past and travel to different worlds and dimensions, but there isn't much else I know. Maria keeps everything about the Cube's power a secret so as to dissuade Envoy's from wanting to get their hands on the Cube. After all…" Analisa turned around as her apprentice Keith handed her an order. "Maria is the only one who can control it and even then, sometimes, the Cube decides to control her." Analisa stated, before she turned toward her forge where Keith was placing weapons down.

Excusing herself, she hurried over to her forge to begin making her weapons and get back to work. "Hmm alright, Zaren do you have any cuts or bruises or anything?" She asked the red eyed man as she turned to face him. Zaren was caught off guard by her question before he showed her his left arm which was covered in scars, he chuckled nervously. "Muse wasn't too happy when I told her we'd be traveling with a woman." He responded, rubbing the back of his neck. Lua lifted a brow smirking slightly, clingy Eidolon huh? Cute. "Well allow me to take care of that." She said as she began to gently play the harp, infusing some of her natural healing powers into it, to her surprise the power from the cube that was on the harp amplified her powers a tad. Good to know.

As she played the song she once heard from another world, the marks on Zaren's arm were painlessly cleaned and disinfected then healed as though nothing had ever happened. Zaren looked his arm over before smiling and lowered it. "Thanks Lua, that was more powerful than most other Bards." He smirked at her. "You sure you haven't done this before?" He grinned at her, red eyes mischievous. "Hmm…" She tapped her red painted lips lightly as she gazed at him, eyes bright with amusement. "You'll have to be more specific I'm afraid. I've done many things before, which are you asking about dearie~?" She asked suggestively changing her pose slightly in a way most human males found hard to keep their eyes on her face.

She wasn't an easy woman though…she knew he was flirting. That's why she was…giving him a little look without removing anything. She couldn't be too mean now could she?...Yes she could. Zaren flushed a little but smirked suggestively all the same, walking up to her and getting closer to her face, keeping only a hairsbreadth away. "How specific are we talking about?" He whispered, eyes sparkling with amusement at her own flirting. "Again…it would depend on the area you mean…such as…" She paused in a gaze to think for a moment while her left leg came forward, making sure a silent warning was clear. She didn't mind playing but if he tried anything he'd be on the ground. "I have never given a man a BJ~" She said with an innocent smile even shutting her eyes.

Zaren's face became redder than a tomato as he slapped a hand over his mouth, desperately trying to control himself...did she just say that? She did...didn't she? He was tempted to kiss her right then and there...but as much as he found himself lusting after her, he figured he'd want to get to know her better before they tried anything. He looked down as well, seeing where her leg was posed and understood exactly what she was doing...a warning. He understood one when he saw one. Composing himself, he smirked before moving back and standing straight.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to wait then." He responded, looking down at her legs and holding in a groan. 'Damn, is there anything about this woman that isn't perfect. Look at those legs!' He thought, grinning a little to himself as images ran through his head. "Yes you shall, could take you a while though just a warning." She said getting a bit serious. "I'm not easy to woo, honeyed words, sweets and gifts will only get you so far." She took a step closer to him and quickly took hold of his collar and pulled at him, slightly bringing him closer, very likely startling him as it was easy to do.

She brought him close enough for their lips to be just a few inches apart. "I am interested in personality, the past of a person, their kindness and compassion. Love making comes much later dearie. That is all I will do anyway, make love, sex is mainly… physical. I am not into one night stands I want something to last a while understand?" She whispered softly. Zaren understood and nodded, his gaze serious as well; he wasn't into one night stands either, in a relationship he wanted something that would last, not a come and go. She let go of his collar and he straightened back to his proper height, which she came to notice made him an inch or two taller than her...he was almost six feet!

"I know what you mean, I'm not into one night stands either; I'm like you. Personality, a person's past, their care and love, that's what I look for. Not outside appearances." He stated before he looked over his shoulder as music sounded behind him. "Oh great." He mumbled, rubbing the area between his eyes, before a pig-tailed girl was clinging to his side. "Zaren~!" She exclaimed, her pink/red eyes shining with affection, her orange/pink hair cascaded down in pigtails as she wore a red and black outfit that would fit a singer. A microphone was hanging from the belt around her hips and she was giggling cutely as she held his arm. "I was looking for you Master!" She stated and Zaren growled.

"How many times have I told you not to call me Master?" He stated, giving her a stern look, being more of a serious, strict Templar. "I told you just 'Zaren' is fine." He finished, teeth gritted in agitation, did she never learn?! Lua blinked at what she saw and heard. "Wouldn't most from a line of nobility be used to such a word though?" She asked. "Unless the feeling you give off is correct and you hate the title." She said watching his face closely, even if she'd be able even slightly feel any emotion he gave off. She wasn't much good at reading emotions with her powers, she never bothered to learn that.

Zaren stared at her for a little bit, a little scared she was able to tell that much simply from looking at him. He sighed, before he dismissed Muse, the girl pouting but disappearing as she allowed herself to be dismissed. "Well...yeah, you're correct. Hit the nail of the head." He replied, trying not to sound rude...it bothered him when people brought up his noble blood...he wanted nothing to do with his family. "You see...I want nothing to do with my family...mainly my father. I hate him!" He snapped out, red eyes harsh as he glared at the ground. "My father is nothing but a pathetic piece of human life, a man whore who cares about no one but himself. I want nothing to do with that man." He growled out, eyes unforgiving as he continued to glare at the ground, almost as if he were trying to burn a hole.

"When I was twelve years old my dad tried to enroll me into military school because he wanted to be alone, at least that's what I overheard one drunken night. When that didn't work, he tried to kick me out of the house but mother wouldn't let him, lo and behold two years later she leaves him. Then, when I turned twenty, he tried to get me to marry this thirty-some odd year old woman who was an alcoholic and gambler, as if I'd marry a woman like that." He stated as he tried to calm himself. "She wasn't nice at all, had the ugliest of personalities as she stated she'd only marry a rich man, held no compassion for others, forced people to do her bidding and she wasn't going to marry out of love but for money. She disgusted me." He stated as he slowly felt himself calm down.

"I want nothing to do with my family, they aren't nobles, their pathetic." He snapped out, looking away from her completely so she wouldn't see his face. Lua had listened silently as he told her about his…past. More than enough to gain hate…she could imagine there might be some bitterness there and perhaps sadness. She had a thought though…maybe it would make him feel better. "Zaren how do you feel about those currently around you?" She asked stepping closer to rest a comforting hand on his arm. "The queen, her family, those you fight alongside. How do you feel about them?" She asked more clearly to make sure he knew what she was asking.

Zaren didn't hesitate to answer. "I care about them more than myself, I would risk my life for the Queen, for her family, for my friends. I wouldn't hesitate to jump between them and a blade or bullet, as long as they live I can die knowing their safe and happy." Zaren replied, his red eyes shone with a determined fire to protect those around him.

Lua's expression and gaze were soft and kind as she looked at him. "That being said, they are your family. Blood DOES NOT make family." She said firmly. "Family is people you love and care for, those you are willing to die for if it came to it. The people who…sired you are nothing more than...people, no unfeeling things that gave you life." Lua said, gaze still firm yet soft. "You are better than them, I know because you left them and despite my playing with you, you kept yourself controlled and respectful. Understand? Blood ties aren't everything, the feelings are what matter most, dearie." She said gently giving his arm a small squeeze in further comfort.

Zaren looked at her before he lifted his other hand and squeezed hers in return, before giving a soft smile. "Thanks Lua...I needed that." He responded as he let go of her hand, before sighing and straightened himself. "Well, how about we head out and go see what needs to be done. I'm sure there are some places that could use two powerful Envoy's like ourselves." He said as he turned around, before he stopped and looked back at her. "Also...stay behind me, I don't want you getting hurt. If one person lays their grubby hands on you they'll be answering to me, personally." He stated with a hidden threat towards others in his voice...he wasn't gonna let anyone touch her.

Lua's eyebrows shot up. "Oooh ho, really now?" She said sarcastically. She understood why he said that, healers and supporters tended to be, for lack of a better word, 'squishy'. Well, she would just have to prove to him she didn't need a guard. She turned slightly seeing a weapon rack behind her, now very glad they hadn't left the forge like area.

She examined each weapon carefully then lifted a sharp long thin blade…must be used for practice. Before Zaren could even think of moving she had quickly sliced off her left hand. Zaren began to flip as he rushed toward her, taking off his jacket, eyes wide with panic at seeing what happened. "...Going to try and stop the bleeding are you? Too shocked to speak?" She asked neutrally; this was the reaction she normally got. "Zaren, be a dear and look down at my hand on the ground." She said dully, he did as asked and looked down, just in time to see the lobbed off limb turn to ash and get blown away by a light wind.

Zaren stared in horror and confusion as this happened before looking to her for an explanation as he pressed his jacket to the limb she cut off, hoping to stop the bleeding. "Remove the jacket about…now." She said looking down at her covered hand, waiting for him to do so. He rose a brow, confused and thinking she lost her mind but removed it nonetheless and was surprised to see her wound glow a bright blue then her hand reappeared. She flexed her fingers and clenched her hand a few times and even let him touch and hold it to make him feel better.

Zaren was surprised and shocked, eyes wide in awe...not as initially freaked out as one would be but awed at her powers. "...Okay, it's official, you had to have done this before." He stated plainly as he gave her a blank stare, voice unimpressed yet his eyes giving him away.

"Oh yes, I have many times. My people, the Xophillyai, are not human you see, we have no official name. We heal and regenerate very quickly; the older the person is when they get wounded or lose something, the faster it comes back." She explained, before crossing her arms as she hummed. "Say we had met when I was truly twenty, you would have seen all the muscles, nerves, vines, bones and whatever else healing and regenerating back. It's not nice to watch happen. Oh and I can't die." She said cheerfully.

The nasty part was over, all she had to do was explain things now. "No matter what happens to me I can't be killed…well, not true, there are two ways to kill me but for the sake of my safety I will not say what they are, enemies could be anywhere after all. For example-!" She paused at seeing panic in his eyes. "Calm down, I'm not about to stab myself with the sword." She said quickly, hoping to ease him.

Zaren relaxed a little, so she continued. "If I were to get my head chopped off, the head would turn the ash and then come back and I'd be just fine. Cut in two in some way…one half of my body would turn to ash and the rest would heal and regenerate. My whole body can even be destroyed but that there…is more…dangerous." She stated, seeing she still held his attention, continued. "There has to be a part of me to come back with. Luckily I have a whole hidden room back home in Xophillya with body parts I've removed and have spelled them to keep from turning to ash." She said and Zaren rubbed his head, exactly how much has this woman planned for?

"My powers would pick one and I of course would be back as though nothing happened after a while…it would take a year at most I think. It's a good thing you know, that I have such an insane pain tolerance, happens when you've been tortured, killed and experimented on in every way known." She mused tapping her temple. "That about covers it, have any questions dearie?" She asked cheekily.

She knew she had scared the living day lights out of him by doing that but no one ever believed her when she simply said she healed and regenerated. It took seeing it happen to believe it. Zaren sighed, taking all the information in, registering it...but not really finding any question's to ask. He had a pretty good idea, he knew she could defend herself...but still.

"I understand you can defend yourself...but…" He sighed, rubbing his neck. "just stay behind me, I know you can protect yourself but I ask that you do take care. Never know what demon's can think of and before we know it...a world could be destroyed." He commented before gently grabbing her hand and leading her out of Aura Kingdom...it was time to begin their journey.


	2. Chapter 2

As they exited Aura Kingdom, the winter air hit them full force, making Zaren growl...he wasn't really affected too much by the cold; having lived in a snowy place his whole life. Not to mention, the warmth from Muse's bond with him through the key kept the cold at bay. He looked at Lua, wondering if she was affected. "Are you okay?" He asked her over the roaring wind, trying to ignore the snow that hit them. Lua gave a tiny shrug. "I'm fine, I can adjust my body temperature if need be. If you want I can make a heating ward around us, it doesn't take much power to do." She said idly tracing rune patterns in the air but not putting power in them to do anything. Zaren shrugged.

"You can if you want, Muse's warmth from the bond keeps the cold at bay." He explained before looking around, trying to see if anything was in sight. "We best keep moving, the wind will slow enemies down but that doesn't mean we're safe." Zaren said as he took a right, keeping a tight hold on her hand; she didn't know anything about Terra, it'd be best to keep her close. Zaren knew most of Terra, having explored since he was young and keeping everything to memory; it was one of the reason's why Maria assigned him as her guide...not to mention; when he heard a Envoy needed help, he offered.

"I'll take your word for it that it isn't safe, I know very little of the area after all. I only learned the basics. My great grandfather was here once…I can't say how long ago but he was here." She mused idly swinging their joined hands. "I do wonder why he never explored some the places he visited; he just entered them all and put them in the transporter database. After he did that, he gathered all the info on the places and stuck it in the library. I had to move the transport later though…a powerful object near thousands of spell books, tomes, and scrolls…Yeah nothing good came of that." Lua said with a soft laugh, golden eyes sparkling. It hadn't been funny when half the building got blown sky high but it had been funny later once repairs were done.

Zaren chuckled, looking at their joined hands before swinging them freely with her, for some reason, being around her felt natural; it was more enjoyable than he thought traveling with someone would be. As they continued, the harsh winds slowly began dying down and they saw a small camp a little ways away. Zaren smiled, remembering where he and some merchants had set up camp; they must've looked after his stuff while he was away. He approached the camp, giving Lua a reassuring smile as they entered. "Mornin' fella's." He greeted them, letting Lua's hand go as he grabbed some of his stuff from the previous night. "Ah, Zaren, welcome." One of the men greeted in return, he looked young; probably in his teen's with tan skin, blonde hair and bright green eyes.

"Your horse nearly took off when the wind started but we were able to calm the poor pet down." He said, pointing toward a pure white unicorn. The unicorn had glowing yellow eyes that looked straight at Zaren as the white steed stood and walked over toward him, nuzzling his chest affectionately. The unicorn had a blue mane and tail that seemed to shine despite the damp hair, the legs were furry and blue with the hooves looking freshly polished; wearing regal armor that was white, purple and blue with the horn glowing a bright yellow like the sun. The horse looked built and big enough to carry two people plus cargo.

Seeing Lua looking, he chuckled as he patted the unicorns snout; making the steed hoof the ground in happiness. "This here is Gazer, the Daybreak Unicorn; he was given to me by my brother and sister, the only two who even care about me despite everything that happened." Zaren said, smiling at the horse who neighed a little and hoofed the ground again before looking at Lua. The horse walked toward her a little and sniffed her, noting the fact that she wasn't human but the undeniable feel of Gaian Energy running through her due to her bond with the Eidolon perched on her shoulder showed Gazer that she wasn't harmful. Instead the unicorn touched her hand with his snout, trusting her to not harm him or his rider.

"Hn, well hello there pretty one." She said as she gently stroked at the horse's cheeks in a way most like it. All were different though, while he may not love the feeling it would still feel nice. "You remind me of an old friend, Grazer." She said with a slightly sad tone. "He was...kind and cared for others. He saved my life as a child." A quick snap of her fingers and two small cubes appeared on her hand. "Some like salt others like sugar, take your preferred treat pretty one." Lua said as she offered the cubes.

Gazer looked at the cubes before taking the sugar one in his mouth and enjoying his treat, nuzzling his head against her cheek as she continued her affectionate strokes. Zaren smiled, glad to see Gazer liked her before looking at the others. "Did Muse keep the cold at bay last night for you all?" He asked as he grabbed the last bag, before hooking them to Gazer's saddle, adjusting the saddle to make sure he was comfortable. "Yep, that girl sure can sing and bring warmth to anyone within ten miles." One of the older men, who looked a little gruff and jagged with scars lining his exposed arms; wearing metal armor replied. Though he looked dangerous to most, his gruff voice was warm and gentle, something many wouldn't see with merchant's.

"I'm glad she kept you all warm last night." Zaren said before he walked over to Lua and smirked at her. "Need any help getting on?" He questioned, though the suggestive look in his eyes seem to scream he wanted to touch her. She gave him a wicked grin, knowing where his thoughts were. "Sorry, not into bestiality much, you?" She asked cocking her head a bit. She fought to keep from laughing when she heard a few snorts. Seemed some of those men found that funny...eh, it was if you had the humor. Zaren fumbled and stumbled over his words, having not expected that reaction, he had actually been wishing she would play along and flirt back...oh well, maybe next time.

He sighed and shook his head amused before tapping the horse's saddle, cocking a brow at her amused. "You know what I meant. Do you need help getting on Gazer to ride?" He responded, voice filled with amusement, yet he glared at some of the guys as they busted out laughing, unable to really contain their amusement much longer. Lua cleared up her thoughts even though she could do it again, since he still worded it badly, she took pity on him. "I don't but…" She paused and looked him over a touch concerned. She'd rather not say this aloud where the other men could hear, so she carefully reached out to touch his mind a bit surprised to see some guards there. Interesting...most humans couldn't managed that. She stayed outside the wall in his mind waiting for him to let her in so she could speak without being overheard.

Zaren felt something touching his mind before his curiosity overtook him and he let his guard down a little, then he felt something slip inside. Lua had no plans of going far, there was a reason the guard was here, she was not going to snoop around. _"Do you hear me Zaren?"_ She said softly in his mind aware that her voice wasn't spell protected here and could overwhelm him if this took too long. She'd have to be quick, she didn't want him to break under her will even if she didn't mean to do it. Zaren nodded to her, not sure what else to do and suddenly a wall further within his mind became stronger...he was guarding something deep within...she could tell.

Lua ignored the guard she felt come up somewhere, she had no plans of going after it. _"I'm sorry for speaking in your mind like this but I didn't want those other men to hear. I did say I am not human...well part of me can be counted as a seductress and I don't mean the human women who sell their backs on the streets. The type of creature that preys on men, draining their life force through…well intercourse. They never even know it's happening until they are about to die."_ She explained and seeing as she still had his attention, continued as he slowly showed understanding. _"The point I'm trying to make is, close contact with me is going to start to affect you, Zaren. Human males have a hard time resisting the pull, the call...their bodies sure don't want to, let me tell you. So I have to ask…where are we headed and how long will it take? We'll need to stop every hour and give you twenty minutes away from me so as not to be…compelled."_ She told him telepathically and Zaren gave her a curious look...when suddenly something echoed in her mind.

 _ **"Compelled to do what exactly?"**_ Was his response, his red eyes showing concern, not for his well-being, but for hers. _"...To try and bed me of course, what else you silly man?"_ She said with a laugh. _"I could stop you of course if it happened but…well you'd still need to take care of a problem you'd gained. I can't imagine you'd want to try and deal with that, having me around. If you are concerned for me don't be. Even if I couldn't stop you and bring your mind back to where it should be, I am no virgin; I've lived for thousands of years Zaren. And no, we aren't going to talk about that right now."_ She said quickly knowing he had felt the slight disgust and anger when she said that mentally.

It wouldn't be hard for him to figure out how her first had gone upon sensing that. She'd been young and unable to control her powers fully, that was the only reason it happened. The man had been beside himself after his mind came back. He sighed before leaning to whisper in her ear. "The power of the Cube of Gaia protects against things like that, believe me; I've seen similar things with others and Envoy's are unaffected." He responded before motioning to Gazer. "Don't worry, I'll be okay; the town we're headed to isn't far either." He said as he moved back, the words had been whispered to where they wouldn't hear.

"I'll help you on if you need it." He responded, looking at her for confirmation; she was suddenly pushed out of his mind as another force; not under his control, repelled her. Lua nodded and smiled at him happy he hadn't pushed for answers about...her first. "I'll let you help me up, it's been awhile since I was last on a horse. Give or take two hundred years." She said motioning for him to either get on first or help her up then get on. Zaren smiled, unaware about the force within his mind, before he moved behind Lua and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Place your left foot on my leg and then swing your right leg over the saddle." He stated as he moved his left leg out a little.

Doing as asked, she was successfully on the saddle before he pulled himself up as well, seated behind her as he grabbed the reins and looked at their bags; carefully secured to the saddle. "Well gents," He started, looking at the merchants. "I shall see you all another day." He responded and after a few snorts and small goodbyes, lightly dug his heel in Gazer's side and the horse took off, a small canter to the next town. As they headed to the next village, Gazer had slowed to a small trot, neither were really in a big rush to get to the next town; especially since Zaren was unaffected by her powers. Yet...he seemed lost in his own world...her words 'not exactly a virgin' rang in his head. He wasn't disgusted about that fact but by the person who did it to her...something told him it wasn't her fault; it was out of her control...but it also brought up bad memories.

He remembered what happened to him so long ago and he unintentionally shivered as the memories went through his mind; the screams of a younger him begging his father to stop echoed in his head. His body tensed...something both Gazer and Lua took notice of and thus making Gazer stop and give a small neigh; he was asking them to dismount to relax, in which they both did...but this only made it worse to Zaren. Without anything to distract him, his mind ran rampant with memories. He sat down heavily against a tree, body shaking as he tried to dispel the nightmarish screams from his mind; he was older now, over it! It shouldn't haunt him like it did! Gazer knew and gently walked toward him, nudging his head before laying down beside Zaren; as if comforting him. Something had happened in his past that Gazer knew, Lua noted; maybe she could help?

Lua knew signs…she herself had displayed them; she had seen it in humans and other races…though not in Elemental Spirit Masters. They had very bad reactions to being forced like that. Lua approached the dark haired man then got down on the ground and crawled over to him. She only ever addressed this with a woman, even though she knew it happened to men too but she'd only dealt with it with women. She didn't know what to say to get him to open up, she sure as hell wasn't going to break his mind open to find out.

Then she had an idea. "If I tell you...will you tell me dearie?" She asked gently, her expression soft and unjudging. She had no right too after all, even if she hadn't been forced she still wouldn't. It was cruel and harsh to judge someone when that happened. Zaren sighed and hung his head in shame, he hadn't wanted her to see him break like this; it was obvious by the agonizing pain and shame in his eyes that he wasn't far from his breaking point. "You don't have to tell me what happened to you Lua, one person talking about their problems is harsh enough." He responded, before leaning his head against his knees and brought one hand to cup her cheek gently. "You tell me when you're ready, I'm not gonna force you." He responded into his arm that pillowed his head.

He sighed again, removing his hand before he felt a reassuring warmth running through him...this wasn't from Muse; she had a striking fire; this was a soothing summer sun. Looking at Gazer, he knew it couldn't be from the unicorn either; despite their majestic nature the horse didn't really know magic like legends told. No...this was from something else...but what? The reassurance was profound and he sighed. "I'll tell you...after all; we're friends and we ought to get to know one another." He responded with a pained smile. "How do I say this? It'd be easier to show rather than tell...but I don't even know how to start about any of these. I've never even thought to speak of it until now." He responded, showing exactly how harsh and how long those walls, that she had encountered earlier, had been there.

"I'm glad you are willing talk about it but," She gave him a slight smack upside the head then took a hold of his chin gently and made him look her in the eyes. "I have gotten over what happened to me. I had people to talk to and to help me. You may have spoken to someone or someone knew about it and never tried to make you speak of it and that ISN'T good." She growled firmly. "I was sixteen and had almost no control of my powers, a family friend who was unfortunately a human was visiting the palace; as a child those powers hadn't shown up yet and I was more than used to sitting with him in one of the many living rooms as he told me about his home world earth." She explained, before sitting right fully.

"Since I was sixteen however the power of the seductress was strong and new, I had no hope of controlling it. Within ten minutes his mind was fogged over by my powers and he took his pleasure of me. The only reason my father, and the royal guard, didn't kill him is because he hadn't had a choice any more than I had. Now that I've said that, let me say another thing; talking to someone who knows your same pain makes it lessen more than talking with someone who has never been forced." She took a breath and let it out slowly.

Yes, it didn't hang over her head any longer but talking about it wasn't all too pleasant, at least it no longer hurt though. "Besides…while that is how I lost my virginity...it wasn't the last time such a thing happened. Torture, I believe I mentioned that…some tormentors enjoyed adding that to everything else they did." She let go of his chin and lightly tapped his nose. "I know what if feels like dearie, you aren't alone. It hurts and it's scary and goodness knows it's hard to talk about but…at some point you'll start to feel better." Lua said as she leaned back a bit sitting on her legs at arms reach if he needed a hug once he was done. She wouldn't mind if he did, frankly she wanted to hug him now, but he needed to get this out of his system before it ate him up more than it was.

Zaren sighed, it did help that someone knew but it also made him upset to know she had gone through that kind of torture. "Alright, where do I begin." He said as he looked up, the snow had stopped blowing completely now as they were in a white land, everything shone as the sun touched it yet it did little to soothe one's heart. "I guess I should start the day it happened, in that morning…" He began as he recalled the memory from within his mind's depth's.

 _ **-Flashback- A boy, no older than thirteen yawned as he awoke and looked out his window, scratching his head as his red eyes glanced around his room; body tense. Usually he got rude awakenings in the morning from his two older siblings, or worse his father coming and slamming a beer bottle over his head. He shuddered as the thoughts of the last two weeks ran through his mind, before he decided it'd be best to get out of bed in case someone did come in.**_

 _ **After he freshened up and made sure his clothes were on right, he headed downstairs, dreading the meetings his father was going to be partaking in and dreading the parties that were going to be thrown that week. Since his father was a noble, it was his 'job' to throw a party for him and other nobles though Zaren hated the parties; he'd rather be with his Uncle and Aunt riding horses.**_

 _ **As he entered the dining hall, a hand roughly grabbed his left shoulder and he was slammed into the wall beside one of the many china cabinets that were within the dining hall. Groaning at the pain that wracked his body, he looked up to see his loathsome father with another filthy whore hanging on his arm. "Who's the boy, hun?" She asked, looking at Zaren but he just glared at her, not that she really took notice as she looked back at Zaren's father. "Just my pathetic son, don't mind him." His father spat out before walking off with the woman clinging to him.**_

 _ **Zaren scoffed, wondering if his father was going to try the advances again tonight; fearing what would happen should his dad succeed. The past few nights had been worrisome, even to the maids and butlers within the estate; though no one dared raise their concern to Lord Akitash, else it'd be a swift death. "Stupid, blasted, bastard." Zaren growled out as he stood and made his way into the lobby, he'd best wait on guests unless his father came back and decided to give him a beating.**_

 _ **[~~~~*~~~~]**_

 _ **Hours later and the party/meeting his father was hosting was in full swing; making Zaren scrunch his nose in disgust as the smell of alcohol and cigarettes assaulted his nose. He waved a hand before him as smoke billowed over to him from one of the many guests before he excused himself from the several women that surrounded him. He didn't understand why they were so attracted to him; yes he was a noble, yes he was young and yes he acted more mature than his father but that was no excuse for those women to cling to him and ask him if he was interested. He most certainly was NOT! He sighed as he entered his room, closing his doors, locking it and flopping onto his bed before falling asleep. -Flashback end-**_

"After I fell asleep...I hadn't expected anything when I woke and saw my dad in the room; the same thing happened every night. He'd beat me, tell me I'm worthless and should've done as he had ordered me when I was little...but this night...it was different." Zaren said, eyes slightly glazed as the memory echoed in his head.

 _ **-Flashback- Zaren awoke with a gasp as the weight on his bed shifted and before he could think to even move, his hands were bound and he felt his feet yanked down to be bound as well. "What the hell?! Dad, what're you-MHM!" Zaren found himself gagged and noticed an unusual, cruel, disgusting smirk on his father's face. "Tonight is the last night you defy me boy." He growled as he smacked Zaren, before ripping the boy's shirt off, even as tears streamed down his face.**_

 _ **The next hour was a blur for the young boy as he screamed, begged through his gag for his father to stop; for his father to forgive him for being disobedient even though Zaren hadn't known what he did wrong. As far as the boy was truly concerned, he had always listened unless his father ordered him to stay away from home for more than a month. Body bruised and battered, open cuts that bled the poor boy thought tonight was the night he'd die.**_

 _ **His father was ruthless, the thrusts painful as he felt his world shattered before him...when suddenly the door was slammed on...once...twice...three times before it broke and several people ran in, yanking the boy's father from him; but it was too late. He had already had his sickening pleasure as he laughed at the broken boys crying form. "Disobedient boys deserve to be punished!" He shouted maniacally, even as two children, no older than eighteen, held the thirteen year old broken boy in their arms; tears streaming down their own faces. -Flashback end-**_

"My brother and sister did all they could to get my father accused of and arrested but because he was 'friends' with the chief of Police despite screwing the man's wife, he was given pardon." Zaren explained, finishing his story. "I couldn't believe it, though afterwards my brother and sister bought Gazer for me. Because he was weak when I first got him, he stayed in my room...his mere presence seemed to disturb my father; so I felt safer knowing my dad didn't feel safe." Zaren said as he rubbed Gazers snout...yet his body was trembling and that's when he broke.

He hung his head as sobs wracked his body; almost curling into a ball as he hunched his body...he had kept it in so long, never talking to anyone about it despite the fact that people had wanted to help. Yet with Lua...he found himself wanting to tell her, believing...no, knowing she could help. Lua wished her first reaction was to hug him but it wasn't. Her first reaction was the desire to hunt the man down and slowly rip his genitals off, making sure he felt every bit of skin, muscle, nerve and anything else slowly getting torn off! She also wanted to start cursing but…what good what that do? She pushed aside all those thoughts and rested a hand on Zaren's shoulder silently telling him if he needed comfort she was here, he had no need to hold back.

Zaren instinctively reached for her, his arms around her waist as he rested his head against her stomach, hugging her tightly but not enough to hurt her. He was comforted by her presence, knowing she was there for him and understood had him feeling blessed to have her as a friend. He didn't know what he'd do without her. Lua rather hoped in his current state Zaren couldn't tell how much her anger was affecting the area around them. The snow had been blown away in the spot they sat in, the wind blew harshly so much so that it whistled and roared and dark rain clouds began to move above their heads. Well if it rained it rained she didn't care, Zaren might when he was calm though…he might get a cold.

Lua shook her head and began to run her fingers slowly through his hair and messaging his scalp. She would work on calming down once he did, if it rained…she'd just lift a warp to keep them from getting wet. "You wouldn't be willing to tell me where he lives would you?" She asked sweetly with a dangerous edge in her voice. "I promise I'll only maim him as much as possible." She earned a choked half-laugh, half-sob; she smiled sadly continuing her treatments to his hair. Better than nothing. She'd get his fath- that thing at a later date, the man hugging her currently needed her...badly. Lua snapped her fingers bringing up a screen and clicked a few things then a song began to play. "Remember Me."

If all they ever were was friends that was fine, she merely hoped he would remember her always. Time passed as Zaren slowly calmed down, his shoulders slumping as he was emotionally exhausted but instead of letting Lua go, he tightened his hold a little, still being careful to not hurt her. "I…" He paused a little before resting his head on her shoulder, embracing her. "Thank you Lua." He responded, nuzzling her shoulder as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other stayed around her waist.

"You are very welcome Zaren…" Lua paused, realizing something. "I noticed you never said anything about a mother. Is she gone? Or did she simply leave?" If the woman had left and not taken her kids with her Lua would have words for her. Zaren stiffened before sighing, letting his head stay on her shoulder as he looked to the side. "Our mother...Karen, was lovely and did everything she could to protect me and my brother and sister. But after years of abuse to herself, she left; trying to take me and my siblings but our father wouldn't let her. The custody battle between mother and father ended with our father winning." Zaren said with a sad sigh before moving back, keeping his hands around her waist.

"Our mother ended up taking desperate measures and tried to take me and my siblings by force, aka kidnapping; but we were all for it. We wanted to get away from dad, so she tried to take us back...it didn't work. Our father found her and...well…" Zaren trailed off, eyes downcast and Lua knew what he was going to say. "Our dad had her murdered before she even left the estate with us." Zaren finished, lowering his head in sadness. Lua went very still and her anger had skyrocketed once more effecting the weather. "That son of a bitch!" She hissed sharply, her voice ending in a growl. Forget ripping his junk off and maiming him, she was going to put him through some of the worst tortures she had seen and experienced while on earth! She'd make him suffer before she finally killed him!

Zaren almost flinched at her sharp tone but knew how she felt, he had been there, restrained while his father murdered his mother before his and his brother's and sister's eyes. They had screamed and begged him to stop, hearing their mother scream ripped at their heart, yet their begging had fallen on deaf ears as, in the end, their mother's screams stopped and she lay bleeding and lifeless before them. It had been just three years after that...the 'incident' happened between him and his father. He had been grateful when Andre had come to his home, rounding up men and women able to fight, Zaren had jumped at the opportunity to get away from his father.

"Three years after mother's death, that's when my father had his way with me; it was when I turned eighteen that me, my brother and my sister enrolled in the Navea army under Andre's command. We were finally away from our father, we were and still are peaceful." Zaren said before he sighed heavily, then smiled softly at Lua, despite her murderous gaze to the ground. "Thanks...for listening to all this Lua." Zaren said, resting his forehead against her own, hoping he can soothe her anger with his presence.

Lua breathed slowly, in through her nose, out through her mouth in an effort to calm down. She gazed at Zaren's crimson eyes easily knowing why he had mental guards, humans only had those if something traumatizing happened to them. From what he told her, it fit. "You wouldn't be too against the idea of me making him suffer would you?" She asked gently keeping focused on the man before her to keep calm. "I would actually be all for you making him suffer, as long as I can watch." He responded, slowly smirking as he calmed down, knowing she was slowly calming down as well. "Good, I have several ideas. I'll call home at some point and ask my friends to set up a few things, best part would be we can make him stay alive for years before finally killing him." Lua said, before smirking.

"Do believe me when I say I know how to make someone suffer, if there's no objects designed for it, there are several nasty spells and curses I can use." Lua said bopping her nose against his playfully. "You sure all you want to do is watch? I can give you an amulet that lets you use certain powers for a short while." Lua was rather surprised at how soft his skin was, most men who fought on front lines had rough skin. She knew it was soft since she was rubbing their noses together for little nose kisses, her parents had done it for her and her sister a lot growing up.

Zaren chuckled a little at their nose kisses, before gazing at her softly. "Using something to make him suffer would be well appreciated." Zaren said, kissing her nose affectionately, a chuckle leaving his lips. "Hmm good." Lua allowed the tiny kiss on her nose, it wasn't something that bothered her. She had her friends, who shared plenty of safe hugs and kisses.

"I won't go into all the gory details of the torture unless you want me to, I can promise it will be VERY painful." Lua had first hand experience after all, perhaps she'd tell him about it one day; for now they needed to talk about something less…harsh. "Would you…like to hear about my home? At least about the time I took the throne?" She asked shifting and moving a bit so Zaren was resting against her side. Zaren hummed a little, before nodding. "If you don't mind telling me." He commented as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders so she was leaning against him; both of them leaning against the tree. Gazer moved a little so he was resting before them, able to see them both as his ears flicked toward them, he seemed to understand their conversation. Smart unicorn.

"Well…to start with; my father before me got harassed day and night about making a law that said, 'All married couples are to share their husbands and wives regardless of whether or not they are willing. No Xohpillyai's are bound to this law.' There were a lot of people who desired some of the other's wives and husbands. Father couldn't handle being nagged all the time and put the law in place but he added the person has to be told of the law before they are brought to Xophillya." She explained, and seeing she still held his attention, continued.

"Some people didn't tell their husbands or wives, thus causing them to leave as soon as they could. The ones who had already lived there before the law changed…almost none of them were willing when another Xophillya came by to claim them, some didn't put up a fight as they didn't want to be hurt. It was a year after the law came into place that father met mama… he didn't want her to deal with the law but didn't have the balls to change it, so he started a plan when he brought mama there, he kept her sealed in their bedroom and announced that she had a rare and very deadly disease that could be caught easily." She explained with a sigh.

"His plan worked, no one ever asked for her. Five years went by then I was born, I was healthy which cause people to get suspicious of what father said. One of the doctors was in on the story and said father's blood...or rather genetics kept me safe from her illness. Growing up I never got to see my mother…" She paused a moment, remembering night's where she had bad dreams and called for her mommy, only for her father or a female servant to come and comfort her. "I was too young, you see, to be trusted with a secret. When I was twelve, my little sister Cirsis, was born. She was a little bit sickly which was good for mama's cover and had no one questioning father that time. By the time I was sixteen I had heard and seen a lot of people leave Xophillya or…commit suicide so they no longer had to deal with the law." She explained.

"I asked my father why he didn't change it, his reply caused me to lose what little respect I had for him. He told me, 'I'm too worried about how our people will react to it Lua. I am sorry for what everyone else goes through but my hands are tied.' I hated him in that moment because of how weak and spineless he was being." She spat angrily. "I had always called him papa until then…I only called him father after that. See, in Xophillya when you call a parent by father or mother it's showing you have little to no emotional attachment to them." She explained.

"Now at this point me and my little sister took to sitting outside our parent's room and talked to our mama, we couldn't do more than that yet. At some point after our family friend…well you know, father took me aside one day and told me a bull crap story about something or another and told me I wasn't allowed to talk about it. I shrugged and never told anyone even when asked. I was confused as to why the servants wanted to know about such a pointless thing when my father told me, a month later, he was testing to see if I could keep a secret, I proved I could and was allowed to finally see my mama." Lua smiled at the memory, she had run to her mama and hugged her tightly making sure to keep her strength controlled so as not to hurt her, she was a human after all.

"My mama had another baby a few days after I finally got to see her, a boy. A uncommon thing with my people, we mostly have girls. It's an odd thing we never figured out how it worked." She said with a shrug. "When my sister was five she allowed to see mama, she'd been keeping secret about spilling a bottle of perfume in her room; silly girl thought she'd get in trouble for that, we have many ways to get rid of smells and stains." She explained with a chuckle.

"To make a cover for us visiting her, we started learning healing and medicine...my brother…" She frowned deeply. "He was never able to keep a secret so he never got to see her…at least until he got stupid." She sighed recalling what he had tried to do, the fool, how he thought he'd get away with that was beyond her. "By the time I was seen as an adult and my siblings were as well, we were all gathered to the throne room and told one of us was going to be picked as the new king or queen." She stated, his attention was completely on her, which shocked her as it was such a long story but she continued either way.

"In some places the oldest takes the throne but at home it depends on who the people like the best and how well you do on the tests; if you even pass them. There are an awful lot of tests so I won't go into it. In the end, I was the one the people were leaning towards since I had done so well; the reason they picked me in the end was that I promised to get rid of the nasty law and make sure no laws like it or any law that was unfair, ever happened. I became queen and did just as I said, I got rid of the law and ended up having to kill several of my people because they hated that I changed it." She shrugged, showing she knew it would happen.

"A few I simply locked up in a room with no windows and no contact with any living being for years, until they could behave. My brother was one of the few I had to kill, he tried to force a newly married Muse who was still a virgin. Luckily I had thought to cast a spell over the world to keep everyone safe until I had all the problems taken care of other wise… she and her husband wouldn't have been intimate for a long time due to her fear." She sighed.

"My brother planned to hurt her as much as he could, he was going to take his anger out on her. I removed his head with a special blade that makes sure an Xophillya die. Once all the problem-people were either dead or learned their lesson; I started improving everything from buildings, to homes, to shops, farms, you name it. I took care of every worry and every reasonable and fair request my people had… leaving me to have to only deal with reports of how everything is going, making me bored almost all the time. When I get bored I go places which is why I am here, I got bored." Lua coughed at the end of her tale and summoned a glass of water; all that talking made her throat dry.

Zaren had listened intently to everything she said, taking it all in; she certainly had an eventful life. Though her father sounded like a coward, something that reminded him of his older brother who was a coward. "Sounds like it was hard for a long time there." Zaren responded, rubbing her arm gently. "Eh…well it wasn't fun. I don't think any...good leader enjoys having to kill their people. There are still some who want the old law back, they don't seem to get that when I say no I mean no." She gave an annoyed huff. "The amount of times I've had to lock someone up got too annoying, so once they've been locked up twice and they still try something or attack me, I have to kill them." Lua didn't like it, but that's how it was.

Zaren nodded, he understood how that was; he had helped Queen Maria lock up multiple Envoy's before, the corruption of demon's was so powerful that even some of the stronger Envoy's he knew were being affected but it never lasted long. The Cube of Gaia was growing in power every day; with Maria learning new powers from the Cube, she was able to purify an Envoy even if they were on the other side of Terra. Though this caused a lot of stress on Maria as she had to search throughout Terra to find them.

Zaren had been purified once before already; the demon hadn't been exactly nice when trying to posses him either. He lifted a hand toward his heart, the one not wrapped around Lua, and pressed his hand firmly against his heart. If one pressed hard enough, they would notice the raised skin that signaled a previous wound. "Sounds like a lot of Envoy's I had to deal with." Zaren said with a small, humorless chuckle; the pain of having to fight them brought back the memories of a friend he had killed. "...You too?" She asked sadly, patting his head lightly.

"It isn't a pleasant thing to do by any means but at least you didn't have to use a soul necromantic blade to kill them." She hissed the words soul and necromantic, she hated any power or magic that had to do with the soul and HATED necromancy with a burning passion. She looked up to the sky seeing that they had spent the day talking. "I don't know about you but I don't really want to travel in the dark, shall we set up camp?" She questioned and Zaren looked up as well, nodding.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Gazer." Zaren said as he slowly stood up; Gazer noticed the sign and stood up, allowing Zaren to grab the bags and open them. Looking through them, he found what he was looking for and brought out a tinder box, as well as grabbing a bundle of logs that he had strapped to the back of Gazer's saddle.

After setting the logs and getting them lite, he grabbed two tent sets and looked at Lua. "Do you want the bigger one?" He questioned, pointing to the red tent; he had one blue and one red. "The blue one is a bit smaller, I always carry two in case I travel with anyone." He said as he began setting the tents up, it didn't take him but a few minutes each to have them set up...and indeed, the red one was a bit bigger than the blue one. He grabbed another bag from Gazer's saddle and opened it, bringing out what looked to be food, each had been wrapped with the emblem of Aura Kingdom one each package. "You hungry?" He asked Lua, getting everything setup to start cooking.

"Hmm I don't care either way which tent…we could compete for it if you're game?" She asked resting her elbows on her knees and propping her head up with her hands after she changed her position. She had rather enjoyed watching him set up, he knew what he was doing...and he moved well. Sure he had a bad experience once, so had she several times but that didn't mean she never knew pleasure. She didn't know if he had or not but she'd leave that alone for now. Regardless of those thoughts…he moved rather well~.

"As for food…sure why not? Since you asked, I'm betting you can cook?" She asked stretching her arms above her head to get rid of the kinks in her arms and back from sitting too long, her stretch was likely to gain Zaren's attention as it showed her body a bit more...oops, for once she hadn't meant to do something. Oh well. She had gotten his attention alright as he stared a little bit longer, running his eyes over her body before he caught himself, flushing a little. Why did she have to be some damn hot?! After reprocessing her question in his head as his brain had shut-off for a second, he nodded. "Yep, I can cook pretty well; always got compliments from Maria and her chefs." He responded, before remembering her first question.

A smirk crossed his face. "What kind of game do you have in mind?" He questioned, leaning back a little on his arms, grinning. Lua sent him a sly look and lifted a brow. "Do try to keep your mind out of the gutter dearie, I didn't mean to draw your eyes for once so I'll apologize for that," She doubted he minded of course, he was a healthy male after all. "I was thinking we both light the fire but you've gone and done that already...hn, no we could still do it." She hardly blinked when a few thick long sticks appeared next to her and another set next to Zaren.

"I want to see which of us can light a fire faster…without a tinder box. So… from scratch. Think you can do it?" She asked cocking her head. Most people when camping brought everything they needed with them and never tried making a fire without a tinder box or flint. She and her family had never done that but then they could handle getting blisters from hard work since they healed so fast. Zaren looked at the sticks, before nodding; he had gone camping without a tinder box before and had to light wood without one. Worst part was the wood had been wet as it had rained earlier that day; but he was sure he could handle starting from scratch. "Sure, let's try it." He replied, setting himself next to the wood pile. "On the count of three. One...Two...Three!" He shouted as he grabbed a stick, grabbed a rock, before he began rubbing the stick against the rock.

Lua pulled at some dry grass near and picked up a flat stick, she set the dry grass on and around it grabbed a thin stick, placed the point on the flat stick then began to quickly roll the stick moving her hands down it then back up continuing to roll the stick. Lua got a spark and quickly leaned down to blow on it gaining fire at the same time Zaren got a flame. She lifted a brow and looked at him. "Now what?" They had tied. Zaren hummed, not sure what to do; he would've suggested another test but his stomach growling caught his attention. "Um...I'll take the smaller tent, the blue one. You can have the red, I'll get started on the food." He said, turning his attention back to the food.

He grabbed a few bottles of water, as well as skewers from a bag beside him; then grabbed a small bag from the large one beside him. Inside was a variety of fish which he put back in the bag before grabbing another and smiling; it said chicken on the bag that he placed before him. He grabbed another small bag that had a variety of fruit and vegetables inside that he placed near the chicken before looking at the boiling water. That was quick.

He grabbed a small box and dumped what looked to be noodles into the water before Gazer nudged him and Zaren smiled. He grabbed an apple from within the bag and handed it to Gazer who neighed happily before taking the apple from him. Zaren chuckled before turning his attention back to the food. Grabbing a skewer, he grabbed some chicken and vegetables, before placing them on and sticking one end of the skewer in the ground. He let it lean over the fire then he did that one more time, before letting it lean over the fire as well. He'd have to remember to turn them so they grilled evenly.

He grabbed a handful of carrots and grabbed a small wooden board and a knife and began cutting the carrots up before placing them within the noodles in the stew he was making. He was working efficiently and fast, everything was calculated and done with skill that came from years of practice. After a while he felt himself getting hot and growled, taking his shirt off, trying to cool himself off despite the cold weather...it was obvious he was used to being in cold weather shirtless. After placing the shirt in his bag, he noticed silence and looked at Lua, raising a brow.

"You sure you're hungry?" He questioned, curious. "I haven't heard your stomach growl once." He commented, stirring the stew occasionally and glancing at the kabobs. Lua had changed her position to sitting on her legs with her hands resting on her lap watching him work, she was currently getting a good look at his bare chest and back...scars littered his torso and back; a multitude of what looked to be whip lashes covered both his front and back.

What looked to be old burn marks also covered areas and even some of his upper arms also had what looked to be faded scars. One, really noticeable scar was across the area where his heart lay. It looked like it had been deep, the skin was still pink showing signs of healing; the area surrounding the scar across his heart was blackened and purple...a faint feeling of demonic energy once resided there she could tell. He didn't seem to notice she was looking the scars over, there were so many some disappeared underneath the hem of his pants, was his whole body covered in scars?

"Xophillya don't need to eat, drink or sleep after they hit twenty. We just partake for pleasure and to tell the truth…" She sniffed the air. "That smells really good, I'd hate to pass that up. If you need help just say so, I cook back at home sometimes." She continued to sniff the air and decided to ignore the scars she could see on his body, if he wanted to tell her he would. Till then…she'd just enjoy the free service.

Zaren chuckled, rubbing his neck. "Alright, but only if I need help." He decided to ignore the fact that she seemed to be staring, turning his attention back to the food. It was almost done. He grabbed a small bag and undid the bindings, before bringing out two rolls. He handed one to Lua before turning the kabobs and stirring the stew, the kabobs were almost ready. Eventually everything was done and he smiled, grabbing the skewers, he also scooped the stew into two bowls before walking back toward her. He handed her a skewer and bowl, before sitting down next to her to eat. "Dig in." He commented, before he started eating the kabob.

Lua held the skewer carefully so she could also hold the bowl and brought it close to her nose to get a good whiff of the stew and kabob. They smelled wonderful, perhaps she could persuade him to share the recipe? Well she'd decide that after tasting both. She took a small sip of the stew making sure to cool it down a bit first, just because she could take pain didn't make her a masochist. For the love of all that's holy that was good…the kabob was nice too.

"Is there any way I can get you to give me the recipe?" She asked after she swallowed the bite she took for the kabob. Zaren looked at her, before smirking as a thought entered his head. He leaned closer, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "There are many ways, which are you willing to try?" He questioned, pure amusement behind his husky voice.

Lua lifted a brow at him, a small smirk touching her face. "Hnn…how much do you think you can handle dearie?" She asked debating whether or not to go through with her current thoughts, she'd have to put her food down but if he said he could handle what she could dish out, she'd be okay with putting the lovely meal aside for a minute. "Be sure of your answer now~." Zaren smirked, despite the blush rising to his face; he was pretty sure he could handle what she did. "I can handle a lot, I believe I can handle what you throw at me." He responded, letting his breath fan her lips as he moved just a little closer.

"Just remember," She started as she put her food down and flicked her wrist putting his own near hers. "I did ask beforehand~." Lua figured he was a bit startled when she was between his legs and had her hands holding his down. "Remember dearie," She whispered as she leaned close to his ear letting a touch of her powers go through just enough to make his hair stand on end. No seductress powers though, wouldn't work and she WOULD NOT be that mean or tease that way. "I warned you~." Lua shifted, making sure his hands stayed where they were as she straddled him, ensuring he wouldn't move unless he really felt the need. She pressed her lips to his neck just below his ear and began trailing kisses up and down and along his jaw, she switched to gentle nips and little sucks. She knew she was effecting him already by how he began to squirm and the heavy breathing.

With a small touch of her power into the ground a bit of dirt replaced her hands on his so she could touch him. Her left hand went to his back, slowly, gently and sensually tracing every scar she could reach. It made him shiver a bit…she didn't like some of the feeling she was getting. "Scars show what you've lived through dearie, what you survived; don't be ashamed of them or disgusted. I'm not ashamed of mine and I have…been through a great deal. Now relax love and let me work." Her words seemed to calm him slightly, so she continued her treatments.

Her right hand went to the back of his head and knotted gently in his hair, she pulled lightly making sure not to hurt him and got more access to his neck and throat. She heard him make a mixture of a surprised sound and a muffled moan as she slowly ran the tip of her tongue up from his collarbone to his chin. The neck and throat were rather sensitive sexual places; even if someone wasn't extra sensitive, it still got a nice little-or not so little reaction. Lua was rather pleased to see a few little marks on his neck and throat where she had given extra attention when he had reacted strongly. If they ever got past teasing and flirting she'd keep those places in mind.

She moved her attention a bit lower, she'd stay at his chest like she said before, she'd never given a bj before, and she sure wasn't about to start. She gently kissed a few scars at his chest and traced a few with her fingertips and tongue, easily noting she was getting more pleased shivers and sounds. She was pleasantly surprised when she heard a failed attempt at muffling a curse when she began to roll her hips against his. She continued to tease him until she felt him poking at her. Lua stopped and rolled off him picking up her food once more and grinning at him, noting how flushed he was and how labored his breathing was. "May I have the recipe now~?" She asked sweetly taking a few sips of her stew calmly.

He was utterly lost...what...the hell...just happened?! Had she really done that?! Did she do all that and just stop?! He sat up quickly, his whole body red from how bad he was blushing before he grumbled and stood up, he had a problem to take care of. Reaching into his pocket though, he dropped a piece of paper in her lap, before turning around. "T-there you g-go…" He mumbled before taking off, looking for a secluded area...maybe cold water would help.

Lau burst into laughter once he was out of hearing rang. She had warned him…how many times? Three? She hummed a wicked tune and picked up the paper sending it home to the cooks before continuing to eat her food. Poor Zaren…but…he brought it on himself. She laughed a bit more before she focused on her food. She wouldn't deny she'd gotten a bit hot and bothered though, she could easily ignore it. It was easier for women to than men after all. She hummed the wicked tune as she ate waiting for him to get done and come back.

It had been just a little under an hour by the time Zaren returned, he was still a little flushed but that was to be expected. What she had done was just not fair! He sighed, rubbing his head...how was he going to live through this journey if she did that again? He didn't want to lose control, he didn't want to force himself on her even though he knew she could stop him...he didn't want to ruin anything. Though to say he didn't like the tease would be a lie, he wouldn't mind if she did that again to be truthful.

 _'Ah, the things one puts up with for love.'_ He thought, smiling to himself as he regained his composure completely and picked his stew and skewer back up, he had finished the kabob first. He looked at her with a smirk, blushing once again. "You certainly know how to be a tease." He responded, sitting back down to eat his stew. "Oh I do." She said with a fake suffering sigh. She cleared her face and put on a kind smile and gently stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers. "That Zaren, is how things are supposed to be. Slow and gentle." She pulled her hand back and went back to her food.

Zaren blushed once again before cursing under his breath, turning his attention back to his stew. Why did she have to be so damn adorable?! After he finished the stew, he looked at his watch and noticed it was closing in on midnight. He stood up and collected all the dishes before turning toward Lua. "You can go ahead and get some sleep if need be, I'll clean up." He offered before heading to the pot and opened a few bottles of water, the fire was still going strong, so he could use the hot water to get the dishes clean.

He placed the food back in the bag and secured it, before placing it beside Gazer, the unicorn needed some rest without the baggage. He grabbed a small bag and walked back over to the pot, sitting down and began working on cleaning the dishes. Lua watched him smiling a bit; he was rather easy to make blush, cute. She finished with her food and placed her dishes near him. She got one final tease in by kissing his forehead then skipped over to her tent to sleep. She wondered, before she went to sleep, if he knew any other lovely recipes, she'd love to get them!

 **Morning:** As morning arrived, Zaren was the first to leave his tent as he began to make sure everything was packed and nothing was missing. It seemed he had everything he needed, he went back to his tent and grabbed his sword, strapping his sword to Gazer's saddle as the Unicorn was awake as well. He doused the fire that kept going throughout the night before walking over to Lua's tent. Was she awake?

 **Dream:** Lua sat outside the door listening to the screams turn to growls and howling. She rested her head against the door that was sealed shut and tried not to cry. "Lua?" A soft voice called drawing her attention. Her little sister was crouched in front of her, her light blonde short curls framing her face cutely. Her silver eyes were sad as she looked at her big sister.

"You don't have to sit here and suffer with him." She said gently wanting to get Lua to leave. "...I don't want to leave him alone." She whispered a few tears falling as she shut her eyes hearing the growls and howling get louder. Lua accepted the hug her sister gave her crying silently. Arron was once a human, he had been bitten by a werewolf when he was ten and never tried to make peace with the wolf or at least control it.

This made his wolf angry and very violent. He was in danger of being killed by the wolf mentally due to his denying and rejecting it. "I can't lose him…I don't want another broken heart!" Lua cried into her sister's shoulder. By morning Arron hadn't changed back, the wolf had killed him. There was nothing more than a blood thirsty monster left, the muses couldn't even do anything. Lua killed him so he couldn't harm anyone then locked herself away in her rooms for one hundred years. No one could get in or convince her to come out. She'd had her heart broken too many times now, she'd had enough...of everything. She summoned the deadly blade holding it at an angle that she could remove her head. She swung the blade and- **Dream end**

"Lua, you awake?" Zaren asked as he opened the tent, he didn't come in but when he saw her expression as she slept, he didn't care about being formal. He went inside and gently shook her, doing his best to not be rough. "Lua, wake up!" He said sharply, tapping her cheek a few times to wake her. Lua gave a jolt as she woke up from the memory, her eyes focused on Zaren instantly. "Thank you." She said quickly sitting up touching her throat where she once held the cursed blade. "I'm up, making breakfast?" She asked having no plans of talking about that memory right now. When she loved she gave her everything, she'd lost too many that she loved and stopped trying. She didn't want to talk about it.

Zaren wanted to ask what the dream was about but knew better, he'd let her tell him when she was comfortable. He nodded as he stood up, exiting the tent. "Yeah, just a small stew is all we'll really need. The town isn't too far from here." He commented as he sat down next to the logs and light another fire, before smiling at her. "After we eat, I'll take the tents down." He said, before he got to work on making the food.

Lua nodded feeling depressed. This was one reason she didn't sleep sometimes, she remembered all those she failed or had dreams of failing those still alive. She sat on the grass and wrapped her arms around herself zoning out as she got lost in sad memories. After awhile, the food was finished and they ate silently; Zaren wanted to ask due to her silence but he understood if she needed time. Eventually they packed everything up and began moving again, though it seemed Lua slowly regained herself...though the peaceful silence was broken.

"MASTER?!" A voice shouted, making Zaren jump and tense behind Lua on the saddle of Gazer. "Oh no." He mumbled, jumping off Gazer right before a certain girl could tackle him. "Muse!" He shouted, annoyed before sighing angrily as Gazer stopped, turning toward the two.

"Are you okay Master Zaren?" Muse questioned, eyes concerned; confusing Zaren. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He questioned, making Muse turn her eyes to glare at Lua. "Because of what she did to you last night!" Muse shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Lua. "She shouldn't be allowed to do things to you like that!" She exclaimed, her jealousy obvious yet Zaren only sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Lua gained a slight smile very amused. "I didn't see or hear him telling me stop, he rather enjoyed it." She said innocently as she got off Gazer. Zaren looked at Lua in shock, sweat beading his face; was she trying to get him murdered?! Muse glared at Lua with more rage as her face became flushed with anger. "No he didn't, Master Zaren would never like something like that!" Muse defended and Zaren didn't know what to do, he was at a loss...were they really going to argue about this right now?

"Besides, Master Zaren is my Envoy; he would rather enjoy anything his Eidolon does to him," Muse commented, before appearing right next to him and stroking his chin. "isn't that right, Master?" She purred and Zaren tensed...what the hell was she trying to pull? Lua lifted a brow. "Are you really telling me that he didn't enjoy that last night? Are you not aware he got heavily aroused?" She asked crossing her arms still grinning. "Also I think you need to learn how to read human postures." Lua could tell Zaren was rather displeased at the moment.

Zaren was certain he was redder than a tomato at this point, even as Muse detached herself to argue with Lua about who he'd rather enjoy 'things' with more. He sighed, letting a hand drag down his face as he fought the urge to run to the hills, why did Muse have to get so jealous over everything? "Muse, you're dismissed." He growled out, waving his hand and before Muse could protested, she disappeared in a flurry of black and red sparkles. "Why Master Zaren?!" Her voice shouted through their mental connection, but he ignored it; sighing as he rubbed his neck. "Sorry about Muse." He apologized, looking to the ground, ignoring his burning face.

Lua shrugged. "It's fine, not the first time I've dealt with jealousy before. In the end though…she can deny you enjoyed yourself all she wants. If you hadn't liked something I was doing you could have pushed me off." She informed him. "I didn't hold you down to the point you couldn't move after all." She smiled at him waiting for the blush. "Oh before I forget...have you looked in a mirror yet today?" The question was innocent but her gleaming eyes were not.

Zaren began to worry when she said that, so grabbing the mirror he kept as Muse liked to do her hair; he took a look at himself. At first he didn't see anything...but then his eyes widened as his whole face flushed red; clapping a hand over his mouth in shock. His neck had a few red marks from her ministrations last night; the choker didn't cover them all and he almost dropped the mirror out of shock.

He spun to face her, his face a lovely scarlet. "Y-you marked me!" He shouted, yet he sounded a bit more pleased than horrified. Lua laughed, feeling her depression go away. "You…you asked for it dearie~!" She managed between bursts of laughter. Zaren couldn't help but join in with her laugh, he didn't mind it if she was the one who marked him; he did ask for it, he realized. He didn't tell her to stop, didn't say he couldn't handle it; in fact he told her he could handle anything...how wrong he was. He did leave camp for a few minutes to...relieve himself and then found a spring to clean himself up in.

"What am I gonna do with you?" He commented amused, rubbing his head with a content sigh; he couldn't pretend to be angry either. Lua calmed down a bit. "...Treat me kindly and gently...and keep respecting me when I can't talk about something." She was glad he hadn't asked about her dream, Arron was…still a painful memory. Zaren chuckled, before an idea crossed his mind and he grinned. Placing one leg back, he bowed; swinging an arm over his chest as he folded the other behind his back. "As you wish Milady." He teased, looking up with a mischievous smile crossing his features.

Lua's brows shot up and she gave a tiny giggle. "Alright silly, shall get back to our traveling?" She asked poking his nose lightly. "Where are we headed anyway?" Lua asked; it had slipped her mind to ask earlier. Zaren smiled as he straightened, getting them both back on Gazer as they continued. "We're headed to a small village within Silent Ice Field, there's a warp crystal we can use there. I would've used the one in Aura Kingdom but I need to grab Gazer before heading out." He brought out the map Queen Maria had given it, seeing a spot marked.

"Maria is asking us to go see Port Skandia, apparently there have been rumors of a disturbance across there. An Envoy disappeared here and Maria hasn't been able to contact her in some time." Zaren commented as he put the map away, lightly pushing his heels into Gazer's side to get the horse moving faster.

"Either means the Envoy can't contact her or won't, she'd know if they were dead." Lua muttered softly. "While we're traveling I think small talk is in order. To start with…um…" She leaned back against Zaren's chest a bit and tilted her head back to look at him. "Have you ever been on a boat or ship before?" Lua asked recalling a world she had been to once, that'd be one good story for Zaren.

Zaren hummed, that was a random question but maybe she had something to tell him. "Yeah, I've been on a ship before, both in a good way and bad way. Good was I was when I was with the Naeva army, we took a ship and battle out a sea a few times." Zaren suddenly shivered as a bad memory came to surface. "The bad time was when I was still in the army...but me and a few others had been caught by pirates. I was in charge of the small force the pirates had captured, as a result, they tortured me for information." Zaren rolled his left sleeve up, revealing a large scar going from what she guessed might be his collarbone to the elbow of his left arm.

"I have a few scars on my back from the whip lashings...but they weren't the only ones who gave me those." Zaren responded with a sigh, closing his eyes. His father, his enemy's, the pirates, allies who'd turn corrupted gave him all the scars he had. He placed his hand over the scar that lay across his heart...there was a throbbing again, something he had to stop Gazer for as the throbbing began to increase in pain. He grunted and clutched at the fabric over his heart. _'Not again! Not in front of Lua, please!'_ He got off Gazer, the horse immediately backed up before Lua could get off, even as Muse appeared. "Master!" She shouted in worry, eyes wide in panic.

"M-Muse...b-barrier!" He demanded and Muse did as asked. Once a barrier was up, Zaren clutched his head, feeling the throbbing go from his heart to his head; demonic energy seemed to slowly seep toward him from the surrounding area. "Master, he's trying to find you! Release the energy!" Muse shouted from behind the barrier, standing close to Gazer and Lua. Zaren nodded, his red eyes were literally glowing before a light appeared from his choker and a blast of blue energy erupted around him, pushing the demonic energy away. "Not today Zaren, you are protected...never forget that." The voice of Maria echoed within his mind.

It was the words Maria had said to him long ago when she purified him, she had protected him then and her powers protected him now. Zaren slumped to the ground, gasping for breath as the barrier disappeared as Muse and Gazer, carrying Lua ran toward him. Zaren rolled onto his back, panting as he tried to sit up; the pain left...it was a side effect on purified Envoy's. When a demon tries to possess someone, they leave a mark on the Envoy and thus can try to find the Envoy they've tried to corrupt. Zaren had no physical mark, except a branding on his heart left by the demon. The scar came from the demon when he tried to take control and he had almost lost had Maria not been nearby and removed the demon from him; yet the demon got away and he was given medical attention.

As far as Zaren knew though, he was the only one who suffered pain and torture from the branding; most others just felt paranoid or had an increasing feeling of dread. Maria explained the reason might be because it was an Overlord who tried to possess him, he wasn't sure though. Muse knelt next to him, looking worried. "Are you okay Master Zaren?" She questioned, exhaustion was on her face; she had felt some of the pain. Zaren nodded and looked at her sternly and she gave a resigned sigh, disappearing...she needed rest.

Zaren looked at Lua, before looking away ashamed. "I'm...sorry you had to see that." Zaren commented, still clutching his shirt over his heart...the throbbing was slowly going away. Lua flicked his forehead. "You're forgetting Zaren I have scars too, I had pain from them. I got attacked by a necromancer once, the mark she left tends to burn sometimes. In the worst cases it blocks off my powers and closes up my throat so I can't breath. I have something with me to stop the effect but that doesn't make it fun." Lua poked the place she flicked. "Nothing to be ashamed of, got it?" She asked slightly snippy.

"Now me," She started trying to change the subject to more pleasant things. "I've only ever been on a raft...with a shark swimming around me. It wasn't the most fun thing in the world but I learned how to craft and build all sorts of things." Lua had kind of enjoyed that world, it had been interesting to say the least. Zaren seemed a little shocked before remembering their conversation before the pain started and chuckled. "I take it you ask because Port Skandia is settled beside the ocean?" He asked, curious if she was interested in sailing on a ship.

Lua stilled. "Ocean...as in large body of water?" She asked keeping her face straight. Zaren nodded, a little confused at her questioning tone...he could tell something about him saying ocean excited her. "Yeah, Port Skandia was were Maria lived for some time; so the Port gives people free items, free room and, as it's recently been rebuilt, the Port is a little bigger." Zaren said as he stood and walked over to Gazer, the unicorn was concerned as he pushed his head against Zaren's chest, as it trying to soothe whatever pain there may be.

Zaren chuckled and rubbed Gazer's neck, he was more like a big dog than a unicorn with a battle horn. "I'm okay Gazer," Zaren assured Gazer, before looking at Lua. "Sheila may no longer live at Port Skandia but she does visit often. Her and York at currently there trying to find the Envoy whose lost contact with Maria, we've heard from Sheila and York that she attacked Joel a few days ago. Maria didn't take to kind to that, so we might be meeting another Envoy who will help us while we're there." Zaren commented, before patting Gazer's saddle. "Hop on." He said, waiting for Lua as he got in a stance to help her on. Lua let Zaren help her up. She was now very much looking forward to getting to this town.

[~~~~*~~~~]

As they entered Port Skandia, they instantly headed toward a small house near the docking area, Zaren got off first, before waving to a woman with light brown hair, brown eyes wearing a light blue dress. She looked over and smiled, waving in return as they drew closer. "It's good to see you again Zaren, how are you?" The woman asked him, her smile kind and gentle. "I've been good Sheila, you?" He asked as he helped Lua off Gazer, his smile wide at seeing Sheila again. "I've been good, me and York have been busy helping the village rebuild. The Envoy that had gone missing attacked two nights ago." Sheila explained and Zaren gasped.

"She did what?!" He exclaimed, shock on his face...had the Envoy turned corrupt? "...Attacked?" Lua asked concerned. "Was anyone hurt or killed? Are damages bad?" She asked. Lua had been on several worlds that had war there was always damage due to battle. While a war hadn't taken place here, there had still been an attack. "No," Sheila responded, clasping her hands together. "she hasn't killed anyone yet, though a few were wounded trying to stop her." Sheila said, looking at some Garrison member's who were currently being tended to.

"Is that Willie?" Zaren asked, pointing to a brown haired boy who had unruly hair, wincing when the bandages around his arm were pulled; his brown eyes shone with pain. Sheila nodded sadly, it was obvious seeing this damage saddened her. Zaren sighed, rubbing his head before turning toward Willie. "I'll be right back." Zaren commented and walked toward the Garrison member, kneeling down as he helped tend to the wounds as Muse appeared, helping heal the wounded Garrison member's that Zaren couldn't attend to. "He's always been kind hearted." Sheila responded with a fond smile; the motherly look on her face showed she watched him grow.

Lua nodded. "I haven't known him long but I can see his kindness." She commented. _'The helper knows what it's like to be helpless.'_ Lua thought recalling an old friend; it was a bittersweet memory now. "Well," Sheila started, catching Lua's attention. "Zaren is going to be busy for a bit, so why not come inside and rest for a little while?" Sheila suggested, smiling at Lua. "Sure, do you have any tea?" Lua asked politely. "I tend to have some around this time of day most of the time." Lua explained happy to take a rest for a while, she may not need rest but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy it. "Certainly, I'll start making some." Sheila said as they walked inside, it was homey and a very comforting atmosphere surrounded the house.

Sheila turned into the living room, only to see her two kids, Joel and Theia reading some books so she smiled and headed into the kitchen. "Make yourself at home dear, a friend of Maria is a friend of us." Sheila responded with a gentle smile that only a mother had. Suddenly someone ran over to Lua, tugging on her sleeve a little, looking down they noticed it was Theia, Sheila's daughter. "Hi, you must be a friend of Maria, right?" The girl questioned, her long brown hair was slightly wavy and she had a single braid in it with a purple ribbon tying it off. Her purple eyes were youthful and full of life and joy, her purple and white dress looked brand new too.

"What about Maria?" A young boy asked, Lua noticed it was the boy sitting on the couch a well, reading a book. He looked to be no older than eight years old, while the girl, Theia, looked to be about ten. "Joel, I think this is the woman Maria was telling us about!" Theia said excitedly and he ran over. "You know Maria as well?!" He exclaimed with a smile, it was obvious he liked Maria a lot. "Joel, Theia," Sheila began, grabbing her kids attention, "let Lua rest; Maria sent her here to help us with the problems coming about." Sheila said with a smile, making the kids chuckle as they went back to reading. "Sorry about them." Sheila said as she began to make the tea, pouring water into the kettle before grabbing some leaves. "The children adore Maria, especially Joel; he states he's 'in love' with Maria." Sheila chuckled, knowing how much her son fancied Maria.

"Truly?" Lua cocked her head. A few of the young boys back home had a fondness for her, the adults and teens knew none of them could give her what she needed and wanted. "What types of tea have you got?" She asked waiting for an invite to be seated. "I'm fond of black tea, cold." She said, smiling a little. Sheila looked over at her and smiled. "Have a seat dear, I do have black tea and I can make it cold; don't fret." She said with a smile, before working on making the tea. As she made the tea, the two kids came back into the kitchen, Joel ran over to his mother as Theia held a small box...was that a tackle box?

"Mom, can me and Theia go fishing? The ocean has stilled and the ships have all made port; no one seems to be doing anything busy at the docks." He asked and Sheila bit her lower lip. "I don't know Joel, you and Theia are still young and I don't know when the next tide will come in." Sheila commented, worried as she thought it over. "If you're worried about them I could watch them," Lua offered. "After I have my tea anyway, I missed it yesterday a lot happened." Her golden eyes flicked to the kids who were almost bouncing around.

Lua hadn't ever been fond of fishing, but swimming? Yes, she loved that, she loved water. "Alright, then; after tea you kids may go with Lua to the ocean." Sheila said as the kids cheered before sitting around the table, starting small chatter with Lua as they waited for tea. Sheila smiled, she seemed to fit right in with them. "What's daily life here like when bad cr- eh things aren't happening?" Lua asked wanting to make small talk.

Theia smiled at this, knowing exactly what to say it seemed. "Well, mostly peaceful. All we really do is go about our normal things, though we don't really live here in Port Skandia anymore." Theia replied, smiling. "Yeah!" Joel began, smiling brightly. "We live with Maria in the Palace, even though mom and dad insisted she didn't have to, Maria wanted us to stay in the castle with her." Joel blushed at what he said next. "I get to see her everyday, it makes me so happy!" He finished, his grin stretching from ear to ear, his cheeks flushed with what one could guess was love.

Lua smiled at him. She wasn't sure if he was crushing or undergoing puppy love, she supposed she'd find out at some point. "Ever get lost? Castles are large." She asked kindly just as the kettle went off. Sheila grabbed the kettle quickly and set it on ice, the leaves were already in the kettle to give it the taste. "Sometimes but Maria always finds me, she never lets me stay lost for long." Joel responded before he frowned. "Though I wish she would've waited until I was old enough to be with her; she's the only woman I'll ever love!" Joel declared, crossing his arms.

The white haired woman shook her head fondly, he sounded much like the few young boys back home. She turned to Sheila. "It come out okay?" Lua leaned forward eagerly, loving the scent she was getting from the air. Sheila smiled at her as she laid a cup in front of Lua, from the feel of the cup, it was cold. "Yep, cold black tea, exactly what the doctor ordered." Sheila said with a giggle, making the two kids giggle as well. "Yay!" Lua said in sing song happily lifting the cup to drink, she was going to savor this. She'd have to call home and send for some of her tea for while she and Zaren were out and about, she wondered if he liked tea. Once she finished the tea she stood up, giving the kids a silent okay to lead the way outside and to the water.

The kids smiled as well and lead her outside, leaving Sheila inside to have some peace from the two rambunctious kids. "Maria always liked coming with us to the ocean!" Joel said, a fishing rod in his hands. "Not just Maria," Theia began in a lecturing tone as she glared at Joel. "don't forget about Akane." Theia reminded and Joel sighed. "I'd never forget Akane but Maria did everything with me." He stated, grinning proudly...Maria was definitely a Goddess to this young boy.

"Ah!" Theia exclaimed as they climbed up the steps to the pier. "Here we are!" Theia said, swinging her arm out wide over the ocean. The ships were docked at the pier yet the water was silent and calm; it was definitely going to be a good day. Lua felt her body thrumming with excitement; this was a huge body of water and plenty to swim in. She flicked her wrist, summoning two small balls of light that floated a bit above the kid's heads. If anything happened the balls would alert her. "You two go on, I'll be keeping track of you." Lua said her gazed firmly on the lovely water.

The kids smiled and ran off to start fishing, heading to the end of the pier where they sat down, placing the tackle box between them and cast the line into the water. Theia opened another box, handing a sandwich to Joel, before she grabbed another one. "Do you want one Lua?" Theia asked, holding one up to Lua with a smile. "I'll be alright, thank you for asking dearie." She replied. She waited for the kids to go off then began to contemplate the water. She didn't have a swim suit… she didn't fancy getting her only set of clothes wet, she could always quickly dry off once she was done.


	3. Chapter 3

Zaren sighed as he walked into the house Sheila and York had, rubbing his neck; he had just finished helping treat all the wounded and just wanted to rest. But first...he had to make sure Lua was comfortable in the house. "Sheila, Lua, Joel, Theia; I'm back!" Zaren called out as he walked into the kitchen, having seen no one in the living room. "Ah, Zaren!" Sheila responded with a smile "How is Willie?" She asked, he smiled at her and sat across from her. "He's fine, better than I thought, he even teased me about traveling with a woman. Asked if Muse wasn't enough to have around." Zaren said with a chuckle and Sheila giggled. "Ah yes, Willie did like teasing you about women, didn't he?" She questioned and he nodded. "Yeah, the stinker." He chuckled.

"Where's Lua?" Zaren asked after looking around, Muse couldn't feel Lenous around, so he figured he'd ask. "They went to the pier a little while ago; if I know my kids like I should, they'll be back any minute." Sheila said, looking at the clock on the wall. Suddenly the door opened as two kids walked in, carrying their tackle, a lunch box and the fishing rods. "We're back!" Theia and Joel coursed, putting their stuff away. Zaren began to panic. Where was Lua? Why couldn't he sense her? What was going on? "Where's Lua?" He asked, hoping the panic didn't reach his voice.

Theia thought for a bit. "She wanted to stay at the pier, so we headed on home. I'm betting she's still-!" Theia didn't get to finish as Zaren bolted out the door, slamming the door open on his way out. "Lua!" Was all they heard as he ran out. "...And I thought I was the love-struck fool." Joel mumbled, watching in amazement as Zaren seemed to chase Lua.

 **Pier:** Zaren got to the pier and looked around...he couldn't see Lua; he could sense her...but not see her. He was internally panicking at this point as his eyes widened, trying to spot her. Dammit! What if she drowned? What if she got attacked by the sharks? They were vicious, he knew this from experience...though he still blames Muse for that day. Sighing he ran toward the dock and jumped in, he had to find her! Lua perked up when she heard a splash then spotted Zaren a bit away in the water looking like something was on fire.

Was he worried about her? Silly boy, she couldn't drown. She grinned none too innocently as she gained an idea. "Oh Zaren dearie!" She called, waving an arm, she felt bad for any fishermen but this was far too good to pass up. Zaren saw her and his eyes widened, what the hell?! How long had she been down here?! An air bubble formed before his mouth and nose, making his panic lessen but not by much. _'Thank you Muse.'_ He thought, looking over at Lua again.

Lua smirked seeing she had his attention. She slipped her shirt off leaving only her bra and removed both skirt, pants, shoes and socks. She stretched showing herself off then dived into the water, swimming down to look at the coal all the while laughing silently at how Zaren had looked. Zaren had gone blood red, mouth open ajar as he stared, eyes wide...was she trying to kill him? Or could this be a possible invite? No...no, he had to resist the temptation to fucking swim down and lavish her with love...not in that way though.

He wanted to, he couldn't deny that he was impossibly attracted to her...but he also had morals and respect. If she didn't want him that way, he'd accept that...though that didn't mean her showing off her body like that to him helped. She was teasing him, fucking teasing him and he was loving it! He enjoyed that strip tease. Lua saw him still up top, she guessed she surprised him a bit by doing that. She tapped at the coal running her hands along it making it spread and she swam away from it. It was far too pretty not to spread. Oh, there was a star fish! Zaren swam toward her, his clothes slowing him down but he'd deal with that later; he stopped beside her, glaring at her a little. "What are you doing?" He asked through his air bubble, knowing she'd be able to hear him at the very least.

Lua waved a hand writing out words in the water, she could speak but she hated the way ocean water tasted. "I'm spreading the coal and greeting the fish, did you know star fish lose a leg or arm and grow it back? The piece they lost will grow into another starfish." She found a small seahorse tangled up in some seaweed and got it free, it floated around her hands a bit then went off. Zaren watched as well, a small smile crossing his face before he looked at Lua. "You love the ocean, don't you?" He asked, red eyes watching her.

She turned her otherworldly gold eyes to him smiling gently. "Have you heard of the astral world? Ocean, sea...it matters not which you speak of, it is connected to the astral world. I myself know little about it-oh do get that look off your face!" She laughed when he blinked at her in shock and confusion. "I may have been around worlds and lived for years but there are some thing and places I have never been and I will never go there." She explained, cupping a swimming clownfish in her hands, it swam around drifting just above her hands.

"Elemental Spirit Masters are beings from another world, they are very powerful, they use the astral world...well some do. Most of the race prefer to use the earth, elements around them and guardian spirits." She mused, watching the fish start swim in a playful manner between and around her arms. "The astral world...if asked to explain it, I could only give a basic understanding. All spirits of all kinds come from it, evil and good alike. That is basic...very little info huh?" She shooed the fish away, not wanting it to get too attached to her, she had so many fish at home already she didn't desire to gather more.

"To answer your question more properly though, I love all water. My people consider water and plant life to symbolize...well life." She spread out her hands and waved around the water, gesturing to all the water life be it a fish, an insect of some sort and the plant life. "Look at it all Zaren-ey back off pal!" She snapped, turning in the water as a shark came up behind her. "I am not your next meal, no humans should be, stick to fish alright? You'll find good sized ones off to the south over there, tell your friends." The shark's body dipped in a nod then is swam off. Lua grinned at Zaren's expression. "I did say I spent time on a raft with a shark stalking me, didn't I? I finally got sick of it and told it off, then I went home." She shrugged, as if explaining a normal day occurrence.

"Anyway, tell me," She waved back to the large open water they were in. "what all do you see here? What life can you point out to me? If you can manage well enough I'll explain further why my people see greenery and water as life." Lua asked, smiling at him. Zaren looked around, watching all the sea life pass by; he wouldn't deny it was very peaceful down here. He had a love for water as well, though maybe not as much as Lua; though he did love water. "I see a world we have yet to fully explore." Zaren started, spinning around in the water.

"The life is all around us; the coral, the fish, even what we can't see...life is all around us here in the water." He explained, smiling as a few fish passed by his feet in the water, earning a chuckle in the end. Lua smiled at him. "Water gives life leaving no explanation why he consider it such, be it drunk by someone or something, it keeps one going. Giving it to plants helps them stay alive. Greenery? Wherever there is water you tend to see plant life, which is why my people see plants as life as well as water." Of course they all loved water most of all, there was a lot of lakes and large bodies of water back home.

Zaren smiled at her, understanding her love of water more before he felt a disturbance; even the fish around him swam away. Yet the disturbance wasn't coming from the water...it was originating from the forest near Port Skandia. "We need to head back, something's wrong." Zaren said, looking at Lua with a worried gaze. "I think something happened." He explained, looking toward Skandia. Lua felt something off as well, while she didn't want to leave the water, it wasn't going anywhere. Once they finished work here she'd come back to the water. "Let's go and investigate then shall we? Oh, I do still need armor of some sort, my clothing won't offer protection unless I spell it to do so." She said as they left the water, she cast a drying spell over her body and put her clothes back on.

Zaren looked at her outfit, nodding in agreement as they left the water; Muse appeared and dried him off with some of her power before disappearing and Zaren looked toward the market. "You'll want something light to wear as you're a Bard." Zaren said, turning to look at her. "Wearing something heavy will just drag you down, as a Bard, you'll need to be swift and nimble." He said before pulling her into the market with him. "Corey might have something good for you, light armor that matches and some of it reinforced but doesn't hamper the looks or the weight." Zaren said, before smiling at her. "Grab what you want, and if you want, I'll pay for it." Zaren said, holding up a pouch of money.

She lifted a brow at him. "You do know I have my own money right?" She knew she'd need some when coming to the world. She hadn't had anything when she went to Skyrim, she learned from her mistakes. Zaren chuckled, he knew; yet his gentleman ways of being back at the estate he lived at came to him. "Just thought I'd be a gentleman." He said, grinning at her. As Lua searched for what she needed and bought what seemed to be best for her, they left the market...yet Zaren felt a heat hit his heart.

"Arh!" He gave a small cry, right as a explosion happened to their side. Zaren was quick, and covered Lua with his body, even as Muse appeared and put a shield around them, preventing the fire and explosion from touching them. "Not again!" Zaren heard Willie shout, over the screaming and crying. Scanning the market, he tried to find her before a flash of blue caught his eye. "Zaren, watch out!" He heard Lua shout and he growled, bringing his sword out, using it as a shield against a blast of water.

The water hit the sword and he grunted in strain, the angelic aura of being a Crusader, combined with Muse's power kept the water from hurting them. He looked ahead, seeing a woman with dark blue hair, her eyes were purple in color yet the white of her eyes were black. Her body was covered in black and red lines as if her veins were visible and her robes were torn and tattered. Her staff was emitting a black, purple and red light from the tip...a wizard. ' _Shit!'_ Zaren thought, growling at seeing the female wizard. Lua was new to this world still, as such had no idea how fighting worked, it may have been a good idea to mess with her powers here instead of messing with Zaren, too late now.

"We're not dealing with anything undead based, are we?" She asked Zaren holding her harp close, she was unsure of what she could do but there was nothing wrong with winging it. "No, she's not undead but she is corrupted by the demonic energy. A demon must've tainted her month's ago for the demonic energy to have this must physical appearance on her." Zaren said before looking at her. "You can attack with your harp as well as heal and boost attacks. The Cube of Gaia will show you how to do it, just believe in yourself." Zaren said before yanking his sword out of the ground and charging the wizard. "Muse, to me!" Zaren shouted, swinging at the wizard.

Muse was beside him in a second, flinging out what seemed to be music notes that exploded on contact against the corrupted Envoy. A small Eidolon, one he knew called Zephyrine, appeared beside the wizard; her appearance had also changed, something that made Zaren saddened by the normally cheery Eidolon's corrupted look. Her normally golden eyes had changed to a bloody red color, her white and black hair had streaks of red in it...wait...that was dried blood! Her white and green out was now black and red, black replacing white and red replacing green. Her blue collar and straps were purple instead of blue, she still had the golden accents on her outfit. She usually had a small ghost she held...but now it was a orb of pure dark energy; black and purple lightning dashing from the orb as if the power couldn't be contained.

"Zephyrine...so, then the Envoy must be Melissa." Muse said and Zaren nodded, dodging a thunderbolt from the wizard, before jumping and swinging at her. The wizard, Melissa, dodged as well with a backflip, before a black rune appeared before them and before Zaren could react, several black hands lashed out from the rune, trying to grab him. "Muse, try to stop the rune!" He shouted, charging, weaving back and forth between the hands. Muse nodded and began to sing, a melody of warmth and closure coming from her. Her singing filled the battlefield, shield's appeared, seeming to protect the houses from further damage as fires were put out.

Zaren jumped over the rune, swinging down and knocking Zephyrine back before he used the aura from his class to bind the corrupted Eidolon to the ground. Lua watched before looking at the harp...when suddenly, Leonus spoke to her. "Stroke the strings," He said, appearing beside her, the small gold dragon smiling at her. "stroking the string will bring images to your mind, the Cube of Gaia will tell you what to do." He explained, even as her fingers gently plucked the strings. She hummed, looking at the Harp and took a deep breath, stroking a few of the strings...before her golden eyes widened as images swam through her mind. Zaren grunted as he was blown back by an attack from the wizard, growling as he struggled against the wind she was blowing at him. _'I have to protect them!'_ Zaren thought, unaware his body was glowing as he dispersed the wind around him, charging.

Suddenly music notes floated around him and he felt his fatigue disappear, replaced by a renewed vigor. Shocked, he looked over at Lua, seeing she was stroking the notes on her harp; she must've boosted his strength. He smiled at her before swinging his sword at the wizard, though she dodged a shock wave of wind pulsed from his sword, hitting her and throwing her back. She cried out in shock before landing a few feet away and Zaren charged again, even as Lua strung a few more notes; binding the Envoy down. Zaren struck at her, cutting her arm open before he moved to deal a finishing strike, yet the Eidolon that had once been bound appeared before him and blew him back; making him cry out in pain as dark energy zapped into him.

"Zaren!" Both Muse and Lua shouted, their eyes wide. Muse began singing again, putting a shield around Zaren even as Lua ran over, stringing a healing ballad. The notes from her harp floated around Zaren, healing his wounds and thus allowing him to stand. "Thanks Lua." He said, smiling at her and she returned it. "I thought you said you would protect everyone." She commented with a smirk and Zaren chuckled. "I did say that, didn't I?" He questioned himself standing, holding the sword tightly. "The moment the shield goes down, jump to the side," He said, getting into a charge stance. "the attacks will hit you if you stay put. I don't want you to get hurt." He said and saw Lua nod, she may be able to defend herself and heal...but it was for Zaren's sake.

Zaren nodded to Muse, who was struggling to keep the shield intact; she let go of her power on it as Lua jumped off to the side and Zaren dove forward, pushing through the attacks before he swung; hitting Zephyrine...defeating her. He didn't waste a second as he swung his sword again and thrust forward, stabbing the wizard through her heart. Her purple eyes widened in horror before they turned to a bright blue and the cracks on her body disappeared as her robes returned to normal.

She coughed, blood splattering the ground before Zaren yanked his sword back and knelt to the Envoy who fell down, Muse, Lua and Leonus walking forward slowly. "I am sorry for having to stop you," Zaren said, placing a hand to her forehead as her life slowly left her. "but it was needed." He said and she smiled at him. "Thank you...for releasing the demon within." She said and Zaren nodded. She gave one last smile before she began to fade, even as Zephyrine began to transform into a crystal...when the Envoy disappeared into blue sparks and the crystal dropped next to Zaren.

He sighed, standing and grabbing the crystal, looking it over before turning toward Muse. "Send this to Maria." He said and Muse nodded, grabbing the crystal. It looked like a diamond of some sort and Muse closed her eyes, before singing. Blue light began to emit from Muse's body as a ghostly form of the Cube appeared around her before the crystal disappeared as Muse's song reached a peak, even as her body glowed brighter. She slowly began to end her song, even as the ghostly form disappeared and the light around her began to fade. **_"To the end of days…"_** Muse finished her song, before bowing to Zaren.

"Get some rest." Zaren said and Muse nodded, disappearing into red sparks as the sparks went to his body; Muse needed the rest. Zaren was silent, collecting his thoughts...it wasn't the first time he's killed a fallen Envoy...but it was one of the few that had thanked him. At least this one didn't say they'd curse him for stopping them. Lua didn't say anything, knowing this was a sad moment, she did want to rest her hand on his shoulder but a sharp pain in her middle back stopped the thought cold. She quickly moved to summon a bag that held the mixture she had to take when the wound acted up but she was too late.

Lua's power locked down shutting off and her throat closed. She barely had time to think a curse when her knees drew together and she hit the ground hands clutching her throat trying to breath. "Zaren!" Leonus cried hovering above Lua's form. Zaren spun around, hearing Leonus shout; seeing Lua hit the ground and he gasped, running to her side. "Lua!" He shouted, wondering what was wrong. He stopped as he felt an odd, old power radiate from her back; he almost flinched but he kept his arms around her. "What's wrong?" He asked before he saw Leonus holding a bag she summoned.

"I felt her summon this, there may be something in here that can help." The small dragon said and Zaren pulled the bag closer to them, searching around for what he believed she needed. There was small clear bottle inside, the fluid was colored a bright blue and silver. "Lua...Lua said pour a little on your fingers and rub it on her throat so it opens again then have her drink the rest." Leonus said quickly when he heard her voice ring in his mind. Zaren nodded, doing as instructed, before he rubbed the liquid around her throat and heard her gasp as she got breath back into her lungs.

"Drink it." Zaren said, handing the bottle to her and helped her drink it, allowing the mixture to help her. "You okay?" He asked when she pushed the bottle away, breathing to get air back into her lungs. "Yes." She wheezed weakly, having to lean on Zaren as she sat up. "...Old wound reacted...I really hate necromancers…" She groaned, feeling a headache coming, her throat was also sore and everything hurt. Her healing powers, hell all her powers were going to take a few days to come back from being so forcefully suppressed like that. "That...dang woman will...always have the last...laugh." She coughed a few times, pain searing through her throat.

Zaren felt sadness flood him, he knew how curses were...the wound and curse the demon left on his own heart...he grimaced; knowing how it felt. "Can Muse do anything to help? She might be able to take some of the pain away." He said, helping her stand...yet when he noticed her legs shaking he picked her up instead, carrying her bridal style. "You can't walk, so let me carry you." He said, when he saw her ready to protest, walking back to Sheila's and York's house. "Just shake your head yes if you want me to have Muse take the pain away, she does have amazing healing powers after all." He said, entering the house after Sheila opened the door, heading to the guest bedroom.

"I'd have her try but with an Elemental Spirit Master, Royal Muse and even a Dovatin can't make it stop I don't think she can." Lua said softly, wrapping her arms around Zaren's neck to cuddle closer, she was getting cold now, she really hated the effects of the wound. "Those races are the most powerful and can wield holy powers, if they couldn't do it, I don't think anyone can." Those races were of course trying to find a way to get rid of the mark, the potion that stopped the mark only did that, stopped it.

"She can, at the very least, try to alleviate some of the pain." Zaren said as he sat on the bed, noticing how she had cuddle closer to him, he grabbed the covers and draped it over the both of them, wrapping them within the warmth the covers provided. Now that night was closing in, he saw the lights outside slowly turning off...it seemed people were going to bed. "I'll ask her to try." He said and Muse appeared, looking at Zaren curiously. "Yes, Master Zaren?" She asked, before she noticed Lua's condition. "Can you try and help Lua?" He asked, looking at Lua worried.

"I can try," She mumbled, beginning to glow blue. "she's from a different world, so I'm not to sure how effective my powers are but I might, at the very least, be able to soothe her throat." Muse said and Zaren nodded. Muse nodded in return and began to sing, in a language even Lua wasn't familiar with, the words flowed gently from her and the notes began to wrap around Lua, the notes glowing in a familiar blue color. It matched the Cube of Gaia...she was using her connection with the Cube of Gaia to envelope the power on Lua, trying to heal her as best she could.

Lua felt the soreness in her throat disappear, shocking her...it was working?! She also felt the pain in her body slowly become a bit more bearable. It was still there, still a sharp pain...but at least she could bare it now. She leaned closer to Zaren, feeling sleepy as the effects of the wound, the healing sensation of Muse's power and Muse's voice slowly lulled her to sleep. When Muse finished, she looked to Zaren and Lua, only to see they had both fallen asleep and she giggled softly, she hoped her powers had helped.

She repositioned them a little, having Zaren and Lua laying down on the bed, before she pulled the covers off and laid it over them neatly; she grabbed another one when she noticed Lua shivered a little, draping it over them as well. "Get some sleep you two." She said, seeing them lying side-by-side...it was kinda cute in her eyes, though she did feel jealousy strike, she ignored it in favor of getting some sleep herself, disappearing into red sparkles.

 **Morning:** As the morning came around, the sunlight filtered in through the window, hitting them and warming their bodies. Zaren groaned, feeling the added heat and slowly opened his red eyes, seeing he was in the guest room at Sheila's and York's house; before he noticed Lua was across from him. He blushed a little, before sitting up quickly, only to realize they were still wearing their clothes. He sighed in relief, feeling himself relax a little...so nothing happened last night. _'The dream was nice though.'_ Zaren thought, rubbing his head, before looking over at Lua.

He suddenly noticed Leonus was beside Lua, curled up next to her and he smiled, before getting up and out of the bed. As long as Leonus was around, he would alert Zaren to when Lua would awaken. "It'll be awhile before she wakes." A female's voice said, catching his attention. He turned to his right, seeing Muse was sitting in a chair, looking at him with a smile. "After a reaction like that and the pain she went through, I believe it will be some time before she wakes up." Muse said and Zaren hummed, looking at Lua.

Zaren went to see if breakfast was ready for the day, if not he'd help make it, he did dearly hope Lua would be alright when she woke up. Five minutes later Lua woke just in time to see Zaren come into the room carrying two plates. "Breakfast?" She asked him not sitting up. "Yes, do you want to eat?" She had told him she didn't have to, she merely chose to.

Lua made a face. "I'd like to but I can't move." She said through a sigh. "It's a side effect from yesterday, I'm unable to move and all my powers are blocked off." She gave him a look making sure he understood she was being serious, no teasing and no messing around. "I need you to look after me okay? That does mean you'll have help me sit up and feed me and if you had plans to anywhere today and wanted to bring me along you'll have to carry me." If he got even a smirk or mischievous glint in his eyes she was going to smack him one when she could move again.

Zaren wanted to tease her, oh he so wanted to but he knew better. Lua was in no condition to be teased and the like, so he'd restrain himself. "I understand," He began seriously, "we'll be staying here though until you're able to move at least." Zaren finished, walking over. He helped Lua sit up, before grabbing the rest from the desk he set it on. Soup, bread, water...and a odd blue potion on the side. "I gather the potion is for me?" Lua commented seeing the bottle. "Can't be certain if it will work." The side effects allowed almost nothing of healing or any relief to work, she always had to wait it out.

"It is to help, yes." Zaren explained, opening the bottle. "I know it may not help, but Maria sent it with the healing effects of Harmonia; she's one of the best healers in the Kingdom." He explained, before getting up and heading to her side. "You need help drinking it?" He asked, lifting the potion up; he had no ill-intent or mischievousness in his eyes; pure concern was written on his features. Noting his expression she realized her silent and minor verbal threat wasn't and hadn't been needed, Zaren was a good man after all.

"I will need help, yes." She nodded, slightly amazed she could even move her head that much. Zaren nodded in return, glad to see some improvement, before he tilted her head back carefully and held the potion to her lips. He was careful and gentle, his action's reminding him of his mother when he got like this whenever a fever struck him...though it always reminded him of a few other things. He remembered days Muse, or even Maria, would be beside him when the demonic energy from the wound left on his acted up, the darkness that would immobilize him and prevent him from doing anything.

He put the potion away when it was empty and then sat closer to her, feeding her what was on the tray and helping her drink the water. He knew what it was like to be unable to do anything, knew how it felt to feel helpless...but at least he was able to be there for Lua. He didn't have as many problems as he used to when the demon tried to take control, the power that monster had over him was usually held back by Muse or the power of the Cube of Gaia that Maria made sure flowed through him.

"You feeling better?" Zaren asked once the tray was empty, he placed the tray on the nightstand by the bed, keeping his eyes on Lua. She frowned. "Perhaps faintly…" No body parts were moving but what did she expect? "While I'm unable to move what were our plans of travel?" She asked him trying to lift her head to look at him but failing. "Where will we be going?" She questioned and Zaren leaned back. "Currently it's not safe to travel until you can move," Zaren explained, before looking out the window, "but our plans were to head to Helonia Coast and see the problems there, before we take a quick look at Demarech Mines." He explained, unfolding a small map and laying it across Lau's lap; it was upside down for him but right-side up for her.

"After we hit Helonia Coast," Zaren pointed to a spot that looked to be connected to an ocean before trailing a finger across the showed a big city, "we'll hit Navea so we can use the crystal there to send us to the Mines." Zaren responded before trailing the finger to what looked to be a mixed green and brown area. "Demarech Mines is where a special type of Ore, called Miracle Crystal is commonly found. The ore is imbued with power from the Cube of Gaia itself." Zaren said before leaning back.

"The crystal is harvested and transferred to Navea and Aura Kingdom itself, where the Blacksmith Analisa and Keith, both use the ore to make weapons." Zaren said before grabbing the map and rolling it up. "As a result, an Envoy will get their weapon made of the ore and have a better chance of fending off certain powers." He explained, laying a hand over his heart, where she knew the scar of the demon was left. "The power from my sword, as it is also made of miracle crystal, helps Maria keep her connected to me and thus keeps the demon's powers at bay...mostly." Zaren commented with a shrug, remembering the incident he had a few days ago on their way to Port Skandia.

Lua hummed. "Thank you for telling me, sometimes when I go out the people I work with don't give me information…" She frowned deeply. "I was once used...to summon something very evil to a world, I noticed the spike of dark magic but was unable to stop the process…" So many people in that world had died when it happened. Once everything was fixed there had been mixed feelings about her, she didn't know details however she had left fairly quickly. Zaren gave a small nod, understanding what it was like to be kept in the dark...stupid father of his...if he could still be called a father.

Muse suddenly reappeared, a smile on her face before once more, tackling Zaren in a hug. "Master~" She sang and Zaren groaned, rubbing his temples. "Yes Muse?" He questioned, trying not to sound annoyed...way to kill the mood. "When will we get moving again?" She asked, smiling brightly. "Theia and Joel are hard to entertain you know, then there's the fact that an odd creature has been spotted in the forest and-!" Muse was silenced when Zaren glared at her. "Odd creature?" He growled out, not sure he liked the sound of that.

"Well, yeah, duh!" Muse replied annoyed, crossing her arms. "If you didn't spend all your time in here flirting with Lua," Jealousy was heavy in her voice as well as her eyes, though Zaren ignored it, he already knew Muse was jealous of Lua, "you would have realized EXACTLY what it was the wizard said. She said 'releasing the demon within' remember?" She reminded and Zaren's eyes widened in horror. "SHIT!" He shouted, getting off the bed and grabbing his sword, strapping it to his back quickly. "Lua, you…" He went silent, seeing her she was unable to move and he hummed. "Leonus!" Zaren called to the small gold dragon, who looked up.

"Protect Lua until I get back, okay?" He said and the dragon nodded. Lua looked ready to protest but Zaren raised a hand. "You're cut off from your powers Lua, I don't want you to get hurt or worse." Zaren stated, his eyes serious and tone firm, there was no arguing with him about this. "I shall protect her Zaren." Leonus responded, making Zaren smile gratefully. "Thanks Leonus." Zaren said before nodding to Muse who disappeared inside him. "Be careful Lua, I'll be back soon." Zaren said and left, left Muse's power direct him to the demon. Lua lifted a brow. "Careful...you do know I can't move." Her eyes flick down her stiff body then back to him. She didn't want to be too funny but there was too much tension for her liking.

 **Outside Port Skandia:** Zaren was running through the forest, using Muse's power to try and find the demon. "Muse," He called for her and she appeared beside him, looking determined, "do you know what the demon looks like?" He questioned and she nodded, gaze hard as she looked around. "It looks like an ogre, like the one that demon sent after your friend when you just joined the army." Muse commented and Zaren flinched, eyes darker as he quickly remembered the screams his friend gave when the demon tore him apart.

"Except, instead of fleshy pink and bone, it's more like black with purple lines and glowing red bones." Muse explained and Zaren sighed, unstrapping his sword and holding it tightly. "Then I better find this demon before it finds Port Skandia...or Lua." He growled out and Muse nodded, gaze sad as she disappeared...she only held a small fraction of his heart. It didn't take long for Zaren to find the demon and Muse growled when she saw it had cornered a few guards, while Zaren was vicious; his eyes glowing red in anger. Zaren swung his sword a few times and charged forward, swing his sword down on the demon, cutting into its back.

"Get out of here!" Muse shouted to the guards, who nodded and headed back to Port Skandia. Muse turned to help Zaren, only to gasp and clutch her chest, feeling pain rocket through her body...the demonic energy from the demon was strong if it was affecting Zaren and making him more violent, thus causing her pain as she tried to keep him pure. Zaren was beyond care, body glowing with a black aura around him, swinging his sword wildly as he continued to attack the demon; not giving it time to react.

He had never felt so angry before...but why did he feel this way? He didn't understand, he only knew he was extremely pissed...that's all. As the demon went to strike him, Zaren cut it's hand off before jumping forward and drawing his sword back. "DIE!" Zaren shouted, voice gruffer as he stabbed through the demon, destroying it and letting it fall to the ground limp. As the demon evaporated into black flames, flames that signaled it going back to Pandemonium, the dark aura around Zaren dissipated and he gasped, stumbling a little.

"Zaren!" Muse cried out in shock, rushing to his side and helping him stay upright. "I-I'm okay Muse...I'm okay." He reassured her and she sighed in relief, helping him getting his bearings again. "You sure?" Muse asked and he nodded, shaking his head to get rid of the fog that overcame his mind. "Yeah, I'll be okay soon." He responded and she nodded, looking around. "We should head back to Port Skandia," Muse said, before looking to the ground, "Lua's probably lonely." She said and Zaren chuckled a little. "Unless Theia and Joel are giving her a hard time." He said and Muse soon smiled, giggling as well; the two did love friends of Maria.

They soon made it back to Port Skandia, right as activity got more lively. The market was full, people were talking everywhere, ships were coming and going, Garrison members were either on break or heading out for patrol. He returned at the perfect moment, when everything was bright and lively. "Looks like the fishing business really is booming." Zaren commented, heading toward the house. "Certainly looks that way," Muse said as Zaren opened the door, "looks like Maria's really made it to where they can support themselves quite well." She said as they headed upstairs. "That's our Queen for ya." He said and she smiled; he opened the door, seeing Lua was currently asleep...probably hoping to pass the time so she could get back to moving again.

"I'll let her sleep." Zaren whispered, closing the door, especially since it seemed Leonus was still on guard. He headed back outside, even as Muse decided to rest as she disappeared and he wandered around. He felt a little uneasy, the fight with that demon was too easy; there was no way a demon that weak would be able to take over a wizard...especially one that had an Eidolon no less! "Something's not right…" Zaren trailed off as he tried to think about what could have happened...when a blood curling scream ripped through the marketplace. Zaren gasped as he looked up, seeing a demon attack a woman and his eyes widened. WHAT?!

"Zaren, look around!" Muse cried in shock as she reappeared, before being slammed away. "Muse!" Zaren cried out in alarm, dodging a swipe and running toward his Eidolon, looking around. Port Skandia looked to have been surrounded and he cursed, he was the only Envoy sent here...well...Lua as well, but she-! "Lua!" Zaren gasped in horror as he helped Muse up, eyes wide in worry. "Zaren, they...they followed us!" Muse gave a pained gasp and he growled, looking around. "Muse, let Maria know, now!" He shouted and ran toward the house Lua was in, even as Muse glowed blue.

He didn't get close before a demon landed, near him, knocking him over and he grunted in pain, quickly shooting to his feet...when the demon slammed it's hand into the house Lua was in. "LUA!" Zaren shouted as a scream ripped its way from him and the demon swung into the house again...making it collapse. "No!" Zaren shouted in rage, running over and swinging his sword at the demon, making it back up before a fireball sped past him. He looked over, seeing Leonus throw a plank off wood off and he saw Lua's hand beside Leonus. "Lua!" Zaren shouted and hurried over, removing more wood.

As he got the final plank off, he noticed she looked pretty bad. A few cuts covered her arms and a nail from the wood had embedded itself in her arm and he growled, he didn't want to risk removing it in case it hit an artery but he did have Leonus burn the wood off, leaving the nail, before he realized he could remove it. She was covered in bruises, most likely obtained from the demons punch into the room she was in and the collapse of the house. "Lua…" Zaren whimpered out, feeling guilty as hell. If only he had checked the area more thoroughly, this wouldn't have happened! If only he had been faster and more aware, she wouldn't be hurt like this! He carefully picked her up, hearing her whimper in protest and took notice of the awkward angle her left leg was out...a broken leg.

Zaren cast his gaze down, feeling even more guilty before he took off to Muse, who nodded as she stopped glowing blue and placed a shield around Lua once she was close enough. "Zaren, Maria is sending two more Envoy's." Muse said and Zaren nodded. "Coming to clean up my mess." He growled out and Muse's eyes widened. "Zaren, it's not your fault, we couldn't have known!" Muse tried to reason but he glared at her, the dark aura returning. "This is my damn fault!" He snapped at her, making her flinch back in shock. "I should've been more thorough and now because of me everyone here is hurt and so is Lua!" He snapped out, swinging his sword as a demon came up behind him, cutting its chest open and letting it bleed out. "It's my fault for this all happening!" He shouted, eyes glowing red as he turned around and growled.

"This is all my fault." He said before charging a demon and cutting it open, letting the demon writhe in pain before he stabbed his sword into the demons skull, killing it. He charged another demon, right as the two other envoy's Muse spoke of appeared, both unnerved by the dark aura around Zaren. "Don't just stand there!" Zaren shouted at the two; one a Bard and the other a Reaper. "Kill these damn things!" Zaren shouted, spinning his sword so it faced backward, stabbing a demon in the gut and then spinning with his sword, cutting the demon in half, completely. The two nodded, shocked by his outburst before heading into the fray.

The Bard went around with Diao Chan, helping heal those that were wounded or on the brink of death, while the Reaper, though reluctant, slammed his spear into the ground, summoning three demons to help his Eidolon, who looked to be the adorable Ayako; destroy the demons attacking Port Skandia. Soon, Zaren's eyes landed on the demon that struck Lua and he literally growled, the aura growing darker around him. "This one's mine." He said before quickly charging the demon. "Zaren be careful, your growing too corrupted!" Muse shouted, healing Lua as best she could without over exerting herself, thus allowing Lua to awaken. "This is my fault, let me fix my problem!" Zaren shouted in anger, yet one could sense the guilt and sadness in his voice

Muse lowered her eyes, knowing he felt like shit for this all happening...but what could she do? Zaren took everything personally...especially something like this with someone so close to him. He took the death of his mother personally, believing it was his fault his father killed their mother. He felt it was his fault Port Skandia got attacked, that people where hurt or killed, that Lua was injured...one could only wonder how he felt. The battle quickly ended with Zaren finally cutting the demon's head off as the other two killed the remaining demons, before Zaren swung his sword harshly, getting some blood off. "That's for Lua." He snapped out, before he felt a harsh kick to his back. "AH!" He cried out in alarm, the dark aura quickly disappearing as he turned around, glaring at who kicked him...revealing the reaper.

"Dammit it Aaron, what was that for!" Zaren growled out, making the Reaper cross his arms. "For letting the demonic aura from the wound take control." He responded with a glare and Zaren scoffed. "Not like I want it happening!" He snapped out and the Reaper sighed, rubbing his head. "Either way," The Bard interjected, coming up beside the Reaper, "Maria wishes to see you first chance you get. The powers from the demon are getting stronger and it worries her." She explained and Zaren paled...he knew he would undergo some pain the moment he entered Aura Kingdom.

"Isolation again?" He asked and the Reaper sighed, rubbing his neck. "You know she locks you in that room to quarantine you, making sure you are safe and make sure you get purified, right?" He questioned and Zaren sighed, relenting. "I know…" He trailed off, casting his eyes down as Muse walked over as everyone began to clean up. "I should probably be kept there...with what I just did." He said, looking around as the demons disappeared in black flames. "I'm nothing but trouble...causing damage." He said as his eyes grew dull. "All I do is cause trouble, this is all my fault and you two had to clean up my mess." He said and the two were about the protest when Zaren growled. "Everyone here got hurt because of me; the civilian's, the Garrison members, business is probably ruined as well and I let Lua get hurt!" He shouted, slamming his fist into a tree, letting the bark cut into his knuckles.

"I'm nothing but a failure." He choked out, feeling guilt, regret, sadness and anger wash over him...his two friends could only look on in pity. "What was that now?" A faint voice said sounding a touch pained, Lua was coming too. Zaren spun around, seeing Muse was letting Lua lean against her for support as she awoke. "Lua!" Zaren shouted, kneeling to her, eyes worried and pained, hurting to see her so wounded like this. "This is all my fault you're hurt like this." He mumbled out, looking down in sadness.

She blinked a few times, the bright light hurting her eyes a moment then focused on Zaren. She was hurt? Ah yes...she could feel it. That was good and bad news, bad….well because she could feel it, good because she'd be able to move again in a day or so. Often it took longer. Shaking those thoughts off, she looked around noting the damage and the disheveled appearance Zaren and the two other had...Muse seemed to be a little drained as well. "Okay…" She began slowly as her eyes rested on Zaren again. "I want to know what happened, how and when but I'd rather be some place a little more comfy if that's doable." She said and instantly, Zaren went into overdrive.

"Aaron, Kate, can you two find a house that's not been damaged? We need to get Lua someplace to rest." Zaren said as he lifted Lua up, letting Muse disappear so she could rest, even Leonus disappeared to rest as well. "You got it." Aaron said, giving Zaren a worried look, before having Zaren follow him and Kate as they looked around. Eventually they found a few houses, closer to the Lighthouse, that weren't nearly as damaged and went inside one that a family offered to them to let Lua rest. As the family left, Aaron stayed in the living room as Kate went out to help some more injured and Zaren took Lua upstairs, before laying her down on the bed. Once she was situated, Zaren sat down as well, head still lowered in shame. "I...I'm sorry Lua." Zaren said, rubbing his head.

"The demon's followed me and Muse back to Skandia after we killed a friend of their's and as a result, you all got hurt because of my damn recklessness." He said, not looking up, unable to bear the guilt he felt. "If only I had been more careful, more thorough, none of this would have happened." He said, before finally looking Lua in the eye. "None of this would've happened and you wouldn't have gotten hurt...I'm sorry, this is all my fault, I know." He said sadly, before looking back to the ground.

Lua listened carefully, this sounded a lot like something she had done once it had nearly got her sister hurt-wait, wait, what did he just say? All his fault? All? She kept her voice calm hoping he could be reasoned with if not...she'd rip into him until he understood. "Zaren," She began gently. "You do know this small place is ripe for slaughter, I was seen with you and then dropped?" She lifted a brow wishing she could lift his head to look at her but oh well. "The thing was smart, you merely made a mistake, it happens. If anyone gets mad then they are hypocrites." She said and Zaren sighed.

"I know...but still, I shouldn't have let this happen. I could have prevented it if only I was more thorough." He said softly, looking up and she noticed this was really bothering him. It looked like he was taking it personally...as if the unshed tears in his eyes was anything to go by.

An unamused look settled over her face, alright that wasn't going to work. Fine, maybe being stern would work. Her voice became sweet but had a great deal of danger in it, anyone who had been in a relationship knew that tone and it was never good to hear it. "Zaren, dear, you are being foolish." She chirped. Zaren looked at her, he heard that tone before and knew it never meant anything good...his sister used it several times around him and they're brother. "How?" He questioned, wondering how he was being foolish...it was his fault, right?

"Zaren dear," Lua hissed keeping a smile. "You made a mistake. It. Happens." She said sternly. "Think of what happened as hunting, your prey was smarter than you thought and you rushed ahead without thinking things through. That kind of thing happens Zaren!" She snapped keeping her smile in place, it tended to freak people out if they got a stern or angry talking to while a person looked calm and happy. "I can see you feel bad about the mistake but you also hold guilt, fine, it's to be expected but I repeat this one final time. It. Was. A. Mistake."

Lua huffed and turned her eyes to the ceiling. "If you really feel bad then I suggest you stick around to help clean up, fix damages and heal wounded. If the people here do have anger toward you, offering to help will make the anger fade as it will be seen you are truly sorry, there will be those who may not care if you helped and you ignore them." Her eyes moved back to him. "Loved ones getting hurt or dying and losing things that are important hurt, the person takes this out on whoever they can not caring at the time who they blame. Now," Her voice got sweet again and promised something unpleasant. "Have I made myself perfectly clear about this?" She asked, smile in place.

Zaren visibly sweat at her words and the way she was acting...but she was right, he needed to go out and help out as much as he could. Maybe Aaron could tell him what needed to be fixed? Speaking of Aaron...said Reaper was outside the door, holding a hand to his mouth to stifle his chuckle. "Damn." He whispered, moving away and heading toward the stairs. "She tore through him." He said softly, finally giving a small chuckle once he was in the living room.

 **Later:** Zaren had done as suggested, going around and helping others, almost everyone had forgiven him; no one saw it as his fault, saying what Lua had told him. 'Accidents happen' and he knew that...yet still, knowing so many got hurt made him feel responsible...though...one did strike him. As he entered the room Lua was in, seeing if she was hungry. "You hungry?" He asked, catching her attention...and she noticed he had a black eye and several bruises on him already. Someone wasn't happy with him? "A touch." She admitted. "Shall I guess or will you tell me?" She asked him, pointedly looking at his face.

Zaren sighed, rubbing his neck but relented. "A civilian...wasn't happy with me. Started saying it was my fault and got hysteric." He said, looking slightly upset but not as bad as before. "Tried to stop him, explain I was helping but...well...then he attacked me. Him and two others at least, thankfully Aaron helped Kate get them to back off and Willie is trying to appease them as this current moment." He stated, before nodding to Kate, who smiled and headed off. "Kate will bring something up for us to eat, it's a wonder Aaron hasn't married her yet for her personality and skills." He responded with a flat look, before sitting beside the bed again and giving a sigh. "Seeing as the sun is slowly setting, this would be considered WAY past dinner time but oh well." He responded with a shrug, wincing when his shoulder protested the movement...how hard did the guys hit him?

Lua sighed. "I had a feeling it was like that. I've been in the situation before, it isn't a fun one but hey in good news, I can move my head." She proved this by shaking her head then nodding. Zaren smiled, glad she could finally get some movement back...but what she said worried him. "You've been in the situation before? One of the world's I take it?" He questioned, leaning back in his chair a little.

She tried to make a shrugging motion with her head. "Yes, a few worlds really...There was one world that I had to leave without helping the Lord...the King decided that one as powerful and smart as me had to be his." She made a face. "It wasn't my entire fault the seals keeping the Shades locked away broke, the foolish man wouldn't take no for answer, he kept trying to convince me it was the best idea." She shook her head with a sigh. "Once the seal broke there was little that could be done...aside from me doing as he said anyway." She got back to the point.

"I was called a tease and skank by many and got half the blame for what happened, I helped as much as I could but in the end I just left. The Lord never stopping trying to wed me...really he was the only reason I left, insults I can take but constant marriage proposals?" She shook her head again. "I couldn't take that. In other worlds it was better and I was able to help the people but many yelled at me and attacked me, while others tried to keep me safe while I helped rebuild." She looked at Zaren. "I've been there, it sucks but it happens." She said and Zaren nodded, listening intently.

"Had I been there, they would've regretted saying such things." He mumbled, obviously not pleased by hearing what she endured, yet he knew there was nothing that could be done now. Soon, Kate reappeared with food and laid the tray on Zaren's lap, before smiling at them both. "Me and Aaron will keep guard tonight, you two get some rest after you eat." Kate said before leaving and closing the door gently behind her. "Always acts like a mother." Zaren said with a fond shake of his head, Kate and Aaron always looked after him when he joined. "Need me to feed you still?" Zaren asked with a smile, once again, no ill-intent and no mischievous attitude.

Lua smiled, not getting feeling in her arms even a little. "Yes please." She really hated necromancers...oh well, the one that hurt was suffering worse than she ever would, you don't sell your soul to a demon with no price. Zaren smiled softly and feed her once more, doing what he could to make sure she was comfortable afterwards before he stood to look outside, seeing the moon was high in the sky. "You should probably get some sleep, we'll be staying in Skandia until repairs are done and you're able to move again. You getting better is all that matters to me right now." He said softly, not even realizing how he worded it; it just seemed natural to him to keep her safe. "Hey, come here." She said wanting him to lean down a little. Zaren was confused, tilting his head a little but did as asked, walking closer to her and leaning down.

"What?" He asked, wondering what she wanted. Gently she kissed the corner of his mouth and explained before he got ideas. "Back home when you get ill or hurt and a friend or loved one looks after you, well they are to be thanked with a kiss on the corner of the mouth. Married couples tend to go on dates once both are recovered." She explained with a smirk. Zaren flushed a deep red, slowly moving back as he covered his mouth, trying to compose himself. She...she just...kissed him! It may not have been on the lips...but still! Zaren soon chuckled afterward, rubbing his neck; getting embarrassed once more. "Keep this up and I don't know how I'll react much longer." He responded with a shrug, before sitting down in the chair once more.

Lua hummed cheerfully, grinning at him. "I think in two more days I should be okay...there is a power here...it doesn't like the necromantic power clinging to me. It's trying to help but is coming to great resistance." She mused, perhaps she'd call Dova and some goblins maybe they could make a cure for her based on the power. She'd think on it later. Zaren nodded and persuaded her to get some sleep, opting to stay in the room and pulled out a spare mattress before settling down as well. He wanted to be near just in case anything happened and he knew he didn't have to keep watch, Kate and Aaron were doing that for him.

 **Next Day:** She had slept in a little bit more than usual, though she didn't dwell on it as she heard some laughter and looked over, opening her eyes and seeing Zaren, Kate and Aaron in the room. Something Aaron said seemed to have made Kate and Zaren laugh. "I know, then I told Commander Andre that he could kiss my lily-white-ass and you know what he said?" He questioned, smirking and Kate tried to hold her giggles in, while Zaren simply grinned. "He beat your ass into the ground?" Zaren questioned but Aaron laughed.

"It was worse! Akane heard as she was passing by and she beat me into the ground, Akane! Of all people to have kicked my ass into next week, it just had to be Maria's right-hand woman." Aaron said with a groan and Zaren busted out laughing. "You deserved it." Kate giggled out and Aaron glared at her. "Yeah, yeah." He said, dismissing it before Zaren lightly pushed his shoulder. "You should know better than to insult Andre, cause everyone knows either Akane or Hiyami are gonna hear, or Gaia forbid, Maria hears." Zaren said and Aaron paled a ghostly white, making Kate laugh more. "Well, before Aaron here has a mental freak-out conjuring images of what Maria would do, we're gonna check more around town now Zaren." Kate said, before hugging him.

"Yeah, I'll see you two later tonight most likely." Zaren said and Aaron nodded, patting his shoulder. "Keep an eye on sleeping beauty." He said before, turning to leave. Zaren shook his head as he turned around, only for Kate to smack his ass. "H-hey!" He yelped, spinning to face her with a blush of embarrassment. "Good, stay alert!" Kate joked, before running down the stairs before Zaren could retaliate. "She always gets me with that." Zaren grumbled out, a slight frown on his face as Aaron laughed at his expression. "She seems to enjoy it." He commented and Zaren sighed, nodding with a fond smile. "Yeah, yeah; we all know you enjoy it when she gets you though." He said and Aaron flushed scarlet.

"Do I hear gossiping?" Lua asked aloud, knowing they would hear her. "Gossip is for nosy women and sweet elderly ladies." Her tone held a tease...and she found she could move her arms and hands...nothing else but now Zaren didn't have to feed her, he hadn't minded she bet but she was independent. Both Aaron and Zaren flushed, before Aaron made a hasty retreat as he left the room and Zaren sighed, knowing he was stuck with Lua who seemed to be in a teasing mood...he was sure he'd be in for hell in controlling himself.

"Sorry about that," Zaren said as he walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Aaron and Kate seem to love gossip, Aaron more so which is shocking." Zaren explained with a shrug. "She can't seem to get enough of smacking close-friends asses." He said, chuckling a little at the end.

Lua nodded a smile on her face. "My sister likes to gossip with the elderly Elemental Spirit Masters...I've lost you?" She noted his confusion. "Ah right, you don't have any of them here, um let me think…" She tapped her temple with a fingertip. "Do you know anyone who can talk to animals and...commune with plants? People good at using the elements to fight and heal? People who can summon great spirits in times of need?" She asked. Those were all powers the race of power filled had that she was talking about. She'd tell him all about the race but that would take too long.

"Usually only Sorcerer's can do things of that sort...but generally that deals with dark magic as spells are the only things that can do that." Zaren commented, before leaning back. "Maria can commune with spirits, seeing as she's the Queen of Aura Kingdom, and despite not being a wizard, she has been known to use the Cube of Gaia's powers to manipulate elements for battle and to heal. In a way, using the Cube of Gaia makes her a wizard on a small level." He said, shrugging a little.

Lua hummed. "Hhnm...well all those things I said Elemental Spirit Masters can do it, they are also immortal but many of them chose to age then let themselves stay that way." She made a face. "Maybe they like those stories about the elderly Merlin guy...they do come from Earth…" Zaren made and face and she grinned. "I lost you again." She laughed. Poor Zaren, she knew so much and he knew so little but with how long she had lived and all she had seen, what was there to do? She couldn't share all she knew with him through a spell, his mind would shatter; no power could keep that from happening. She'd just explain things if he wanted to know.

"Hm, they sound pretty interesting; maybe one day I'll ask what they fully are." He said with a smile, before standing up. "Anyways, I'm gonna make some food. If you're hungry, I can feed you." He said, smile innocent and gentle; once again, no ill-intentions. She smiled in thanks. "No need." She waved her arms. "I got some movement back." Zaren nodded, not letting his disappointment show...he did kinda wanna feed her but if she insisted. He laid the tray on her lap, before grabbing the cup of water he had set aside for himself; he had ate earlier. Once again there was a potion on the tray for Lua, this time though, the blue liquid seemed to glow.

"That's different." Lua commented idly as she gazed at the potion. Zaren turned around and smiled softly, realizing she was talking about the potion. "Maria sent it, said something about feeling a shift in your Gaian power." He explained, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. "As a result, she felt a potion infused with the Cube of Gaia's power might help you. Don't know for sure though." He finished with a shrug, not sure if the potion would work.

Lua hummed in thought, perhaps that was the power in this world trying to help her then, if so she needed to send a little of it home. She opened the bottle and titled it letting one drop fall and froze it. A little screen came up at her left hand which she typed at, from the screen a small bowl formed. She placed the frozen bit of potion in the bowl then it was gone. "Hopefully Dova and the others can think of something." She muttered softly, then noticed Zaren staring at her confused.

"Oh sorry, I was just sending a little bit of that home so the doctors could study it and see if it could cure my scar." She explained. Zaren 'ah'ed at that, before standing up once more and looking outside, seeing others were once again rebuilding some of the houses. He watched Lua drink the potion before she moved onto the food, when a thought struck him. "Think the potion will work?" He asked, starting conversation.

"Maybe." Lua started. "I can't be certain, it may help me heal and recover faster or it is merely suppressing the evil power of the necromancer who left the wound on me, regardless it is helping some way." She nodded her head. "As such, I see no reason to refuse the help." She stated calmly, munching on some lightly buttered toast. Zaren nodded as he sipped his water, once more casting his gaze outside before he saw Kate and Aaron and smirked, wondering when Aaron would get the nerve to confess to Kate.

"Those two are idiots, I swear." He mumbled to himself, watching them fondly; remembering all the times the three of them did everything together before he left Navea to take on personal mission's from Maria. Lua's eyes flicked to Zaren, noting he was gazing out the window, he had been talking with those other two so perhaps he meant them? "Both or the one?" She questioned curious.

Zaren turned toward Lua, fond smile still in place. "Both of them, Kate likes Aaron but won't admit it because she thinks he doesn't feel anything for her." Zaren said with a chuckle, before laying the cup down to fold his arms. "Aaron on the other hand likes her as well but because she hasn't given any real inclination that she might like him as more than a friend, he hasn't made a move." He explained before looking back at them. "I say he needs to man up and just confess, don't leave her waiting for she might try to move on." He stated, eyes soft as he watched the two begin a bickering contest...at least that's how most of the two's conversations ended up ending as.

"While foolish, do you know how many friendships have ended over a love confession?" She asked him gently. "While there is no worry with them, it still needs to be thought about carefully before one confesses love or a crush, it can be very bad if they don't return the feelings and even worse if they like someone else." Her poor sister dealt with that a few times, thankfully she got her love, a minor mixed power and blood. Dovatin and Mind Breaker. So long as he was good to her sister, Lua didn't mind. "Anyway if both of them feel the same way for each other, they just need a little push." She mused, happy to discover she had an iced black tea instead of water.

Zaren nodded, knowing it did need to be dealt with carefully; he had seen allies and friend alike have their heart's broken one too many times. He was sure though that Kate and Aaron would have a different story to play though. "I understand that it does need to be carefully dealt with...their still idiot's though." He said with a soft chuckle, voice full of nostalgia and fondness.

"Oh please, you should see some of my people then you can say they are fools." She laughed softly. "People sometimes just dance around a subject for ages before finally reaching the point, half the time someone pushes them to the point because they get sick of watching." She laughed again, thinking of a few friends of hers. Zaren laughed with her, remembering what a certain white-haired duelist and black-braided Queen did to two certain templar's he knew...poor Anya and Andre; they never knew what hit them.

"Sounds like two certain people I know," Zaren mused, chuckling, "I guess Maria and Akane got tired of watching Andre and Anya dance around." He still clearly remembering seeing the Anya and Andre both blushes like school kids; each too shy to really say anything about how they actually felt. Eventually, Maria herself got sick of watching and called on Gaia's so-called matchmaker, aka, Akane to come in and help her deal with the two. All it took was locking the two in a room for three hours, sending them on a month vacation together, two weeks of forced dates and two fakes letter's about fake rumor's for the two to snap and confess. Zaren still couldn't believe how determined Akane had been to get them to confess...though in the end, the two were happy and have a daughter. "I wonder if they ever found out who sent the fake letters." He mumbled, a thoughtful look on his face.

"If so, they may not care." Lua said with a shrug, sipping her tea. "They are together now, some couples tend to decide to forget how it happened and are just happy they have each other. But hey, I can't say I doubt them." Lua had given her heart plenty of times, sometimes if she loved the man enough and trusted him enough she also gave her body. None of those memories were nice to have however...each of those men had met a rather bad and painful end- "Ow." Lua gasped as her mug shattered in her tight grip, well that wasn't good.

Zaren gasped and quickly rushed to her side, seeing the shattered pieces had stabbed into her hands and he gave an internal sigh. "Please Lua, be careful." He responded, quickly grabbing a towel from the nightstand, before he pulled the shards out gently, the potion she drank earlier numbing the pain. He pressed the towel to her palm, being gentle enough to not hurt her but firm enough to stop the bleeding until the potion took effect with her whole body. "The potion you drank should kick into effect fully soon, just have to give it a few minutes." He said, before calling for Muse, who appeared with a brow raised. "Yes Master Zaren?" She questioned, confused as to why she was called early in the morning.

"Can you take the mug downstairs, please?" He asked, looking at her real quick. "Could you also get another cup of ice-cold black tea for her?" He questioned and she nodded, giving a mock salute. "I shall do as asked!" She responded, before carefully picking up the broken mug and small shards, before heading out the room. "You going to be okay?" He asked softly, looking at her concerned. Lua nodded slowly. "I'll be fine...I thought of something I shouldn't have, it's why that happened." Thinking of lost loves did nothing good for her, they were gone, it was no good being angry over it any longer. The ones who harmed and killed those men were long dead as well. Zaren wanted to question her, seeing if everything really was okay but he knew better than to push someone, so instead he caressed her cheek and gave her a smile.

"You know you can tell me anything, just let me know." He said, smile soft and affectionate, before Muse reappeared with a new mug as well as a pitcher for black tea. As she passed it over to Zaren, he dismissed her before handing the cup to Lua. "I'm here for you Lua, remember that." He said as he placed the pitcher on the night stand, allowing her to take the cup from his hand. "Thank you Zaren...however if I were to tell you of what it hurts, we'd be here for several days." She wasn't as young as she looked after all, there had been many she loved dearly. Zaren kept his smile though, not at all bothered. "Doesn't bother me, pretty much have all the time I need." He responded, before he heard a knock and narrowed his eyes...Aaron warned him that some of the villager's might try something.

"Leonus, Muse, stay here." He said, the two Eidolon's having been called on appeared, before Zaren left, grabbing his sword just in case and closed the door behind him. As he headed downstairs, he reached the door and looked through the peephole, seeing it was, indeed, one of the citizen's...the one who punched him actually. _'Oh great, just what I need.'_ Zaren thought, his mood instantly going sour before he opened the door slightly. "May I help you?" Zaren asked, a little wary but not turning anyone away. "Shouldn't you be helping us?" The guy asked, crossing his arms as he glared harshly at Zaren. "It was your fault after all that this whole mess happened to begin with!" He stated and Zaren suppressed the urge to snap...no need getting angry. "I have another matter to take care of, people take priority." Zaren said, about ready to close the door when the guy stuck his foot in the doorway.

"I don't think so!" The man snapped out and Zaren narrowed his eyes, this guy obviously did not intend to let matters go. "Don't you think this village should take priority over anything or anyone else?" He questioned and Zaren lifted a brow...why was this guy persistent. "I'm not leaving her alone." He growled out, clutching the hilt of his sword tighter. "I can get someone to watch her, help us out!" The guy snapped out and Zaren's eyes widened as he saw two men standing behind the guy, waiting.

Zaren glanced between them before pushing the guy back and slamming the door, locking it and locking the windows. "Muse! Shield, now!" He commanded, running upstairs as he heard Muse chant the spell off before he heard an explosion outside the front door and sighed in relief. "Moron's, you never let men like them be seen." He muttered under his breath as he reached the room and walked in, closing the door behind him. "What was all that Master?!" Muse demanded, eyes wide in worry and shock to his sudden demand. "...I don't wanna talk about it." He mumbled, rubbing his neck as he looked off to the side. The two men standing behind the guy at the door were known for handling explosives as well as having a horrible reputation among villages in general.

He remembered the full trio having been known for using women for pleasure and the fact the man at the door was persistent and said he could get someone to watch Lua meant that they had plans...plans he was NOT going to let anyone carry out. "Muse...alert Maria; have her send a small group of five templars to Port Skandia ASAP for three men by the name of Gregory, Alfred and Maximus." He stated and Muse's eyes widened before she nodded and closed her eyes, singing a soft, quiet hymn.

"So…" Lua placed her elbow on the bed and rested her chin on her open palm. "Anything you'd like to share dearie?" She purred. She didn't like the feeling she was getting from her surroundings and Zaren was giving off waves of worry, answer would be good. Zaren stared at her for a minute before sighing, she deserved the right to know. "The guy who hit me yesterday, Gregory...apparently he is part of a trio that Maria has been after for years." Zaren commented, before sitting on the bed but he didn't let go of his sword.

"The trio is known for handling explosives, dealing with weapons and drugs as well as human trafficking. They use women for pleasure and then simply toss them on the streets when their done." Zaren said, before leaning against his knees. "He came to the door, demanding I help them with rebuilding but I told them I had a different priority at the moment." He said, before he heard Muse stop but continued.

"He said he could get someone to watch over you, that wasn't going to sit well with me at all...especially when I saw the two guys behind Gregory. I slammed the door and commanded Muse to place a shield around the house because I knew they had planted a bomb at the door to force it open, they knew I'd close the door." He explained, heaving another sigh. "I know of this group because I demanded Maria to find them, my sister almost got used by them so I know who they are. I never thought they'd be here at Port Skandia...of all places, why here?" He questioned, rubbing his chin.

"Easy prey." She stated. "If you don't believe me just answer my questions and it will dawn on you. Now is this place a small fishing village?" She asked him, she had walked around the village and had no problem noting how tiny it was. "Yes, but it's under heavy protection...most of the time...until the attack." He said softly, sighing. She cleared her throat and gave him a look. "Yes or no answer only, hear me?" She was trying to get a point across here. "Yes." He said with a sigh, understanding her reasoning of simply questions. "Alright so we both know this is a small village, correct?" Zaren nodded in reply. "Good." She tapped his nose lightly. "Now, because it's a small village, do you know what happens in the minds of many of the girls?" He better stick to yes or no or his nose was about to hurt.

"No, no-" He went silent as he remembered simply yes or no. He didn't really know exactly what happens, nor was he sure he wanted to. "Simple dear, they dream of bigger and better places and some think they can only get there by meeting a man." She let this sink in. "Strong big men, or good looking men or all the above will draw the eyes of a young dreaming girl in a small village. Do you understand now? This place is easy prey as is any place with a small village or town that is greatly disconnected to larger towns or cities." She explained and Zaren's eyes widened...he could understand that, especially remembering how things were with his sister; she had been desperate to get away from their father!

"I am so glad that-!" Zaren didn't get to finish his sentence as everyone heard a roar and Zaren sweat dropped...Maria didn't...did she? "YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE COMING TO A PLACE LIKE THIS!" A female's voice shouted and Zaren groaned, rubbing his face. "No...dear Gaia no, she did not send Incediana here." He moaned in sadness a little and Muse rubbed her neck.

"Master...Incediana was the only one available." She commented and Zaren gave a worried look. "Couldn't she have gotten someone that would be...less destructive?" He questioned, raising a brow confused. "How about Ruby or Keyzami, hell, I'd take Valkaria over her!" He complained and Muse sighed, folding her arms. "Incediana was the closest one, she got here as soon as possible, as stated in your letter and you know Ruby and Keyzami are out looking for the newest Eidolon, Pandora and her wolf." Muse explained and Zaren groaned.

"I'm worried Incediana will do more harm than good, she has a tendency to...catch herself on fire, or completely obliterate anything around her." He explained, face flat and very unamused. "Ooooh, can I watch?" Lua asked, her eyes lit up with mischief. Zaren stared at her like she was crazy but relented with a sigh a little while later, nodding. "I guess it couldn't hurt...Muse, shield." He grumbled and Muse nodded, lifting a shield around the two as Zaren picked Lua up, bridal style and headed outside.

Once outside, they sat down on a bench not to far, only to see Incediana glaring at the trio Zaren had encountered, her Eidolon, Alucard beside her. His blue outfit had a soft glow as he readjusted the hat on his head so his horns didn't take most of the weight; flapping his dragon like wings to stay afloat and his eyes had become dragon-like as he snarled at the trio before him and his Envoy. "What do you want petite girl?" The guy, Gregory, mocked to her, referring to the fact she was shorter than him.

"Petite!" She shouted, obviously insulted...she was five-nine! She was not short...but then again, the guy was five-twelve, right under six feet. Gregory scoffed and took a step forward, when Alucard brought his swords out, snarling more viciously at the man. "Not another step to my Envoy, understood?" He growled out, his red eyes glowing and Gregory took a step back as smoke formed in Alucard's mouth. "Incediana, try not to hurt anyone!" Zaren called out to her and she smirked, grinning at him. "As you wish, have Muse expand the shield around you!" She called out, surprising some as no-one could really see the shield around them.

Zaren rose a brow, a little shocked as well but nodded his head and Muse smiled, expanding her shield; houses were protected, citizen's aside from Incediana and the trio were protected...it was almost arena like with them in the middle. "Alucard, do your thing." Incediana commented with a grin, leaning her axe against her shoulder and Alucard grinned. "I'll show no mercy." He said as he glowed purple, fire swirling around him before his wings grew larger and covered him. Thunder seemed to seep through the cracks in his wings before they turned black and red and he unfurled them, quickly revealing his changed form. He was larger now, originally when they left Aura Kingdom, he hadn't completely transformed, so now they got a good look at his new draconic form.

His sleek black body was completely covered in armor, neck was longer and his face more dragon like; flames seemed to seep from red cracks along his body and in the center of his chest seemed to be a red glowing gem...possibly what was protecting his armor. "Give them what they deserve Alucard!" Incediana shouted, blue eyes showing her rage as she swung her axe a few times and charged forward, bringing it down to one of the guys. Alucard roared and dove forward, snapping his jaws and Zaren gulped...she wasn't to kill them! "I hope she doesn't actually kill them." A voice said and they looked over, seeing Aaron with an unamused look. "Maria wants them detained...not killed." Kate said, coming up beside them and Zaren sighed.

"Why didn't she ask you two to do this?" He questioned and Kate rose a brow. "You know our Eidolon's are exhausted as it is and we're helping keep everyone safe and helping rebuild." Kate explained, dismissing Diao Chan, who was as Kate said...exhausted. Diao Chan must still have been exhausted from her resurrection from her key, it's no wonder she would still be weaker than normal. Ayako on the other hand was snoozing on the ground beside Aaron, his demon's gathered around her, sleeping as well.

Alucard caught a guy in his jaws and slammed him into the ground, albeit more gently than one would expect of the Dragon Tyrant. The guy was knocked unconscious before Alucard swung his tail, hitting the barrier of the houses but it didn't stop his tail as it slammed into one of the guys behind him but Muse did wince...it was hard to concentrate when a barrier was hit. Incediana came up to the guy knocked down by Alucard's tail and slammed the hilt of her axe into the guy's gut, knocking the wind out of him before she caught on fire and slammed her fit into the guy's face and they heard a crack, blood spluttering from the guy's nose and his jaw looking awkward.

"She literally broke his face!" Kate shouted, eyes wide...she had heard Incediana was strong but wasn't exactly sure of how strong she was. "He deserve's it!" Aaron retorted, glaring at the men in disgust. Alucard slowly transformed back into his human form, before noticing one of the guys get up and charged Incediana. "Incediana!" He shouted, red eyes wide in worry as he dove toward her. Incediana gasped as she spun around, the guy wrapping a hand around her throat and Kate was about to head in with Aaron when Alucard rammed into the guy.

Spinning, he wrapped a hand around Incediana's waist and struck with one of his swords, cutting into the man's legs and making him fall. "Never...touch...my...Envoy." Alucard growled out, kissing Incediana's temple as if assuring she was okay. "We better interfere...now." Kate said and Zaren nodded, watching the two walk forward and start tying the trio up, Kate reluctantly healing the bleeding man but he was bound securely. "Alucard's so smitten with Incediana, not all Eidolon's act like that to their Envoy." Zaren mumbled, seeing Alucard hugging Incediana around the waist, keeping a tight hold on her as she held his arms, grinning at her victory.

"Bit protective I can see." Lua muttered softly as she watched. Zaren nodded, agreeing very much with what she was saying; Alucard was rather protective of Incediana of that, there was no secret. "I wonder how much longer until she has kids." He mumbled, earning a smack upside the head from Muse. "Zaren." She growled out, eyes unamused as she knew he wasn't behaving in his mind and he pouted. "It's only a matter of time with those two." He mumbled, annoyed at her smack.

Lua blinked. "So Eidolons and Envoys getting together...does it happen often?" She asked. "And based off what you said, Eidolons can reproduce?" She wished she had looked over her books at home some more before coming she'd understand more. Muse nodded, careful of what she said next. "Eidolon's technically CAN reproduce...but it's very rare for it to happen. Alucard isn't an actual Eidolon technically, he's what people call a World Walker." She explained, before sitting down on the bench as well.

"As for Eidolon's getting together with Envoy's...that's almost just as rare. Most Envoy's and Eidolon's usually only have a strong partnership; strong as family but for some, they have been known to get together with each other as they know the other better than anyone else." Muse explained, crossing one leg over the other. "Makes sense." Lua nodded. "Looks like they're wrapping up...and coming to say hello." She caught there attention as the two came over, Muse stood to let Incediana sit down in need be. "Hey Zaren, been sometime." Incediana stated and Zaren chuckled. "We saw each other at the feast in Aura Kingdom, almost a month ago." He responded amused and Incediana hummed, shrugging.

"Semantics." She responded with a smirk, earning a chuckle from Alucard and Zaren to roll his eyes amused. "As you say, Queen of the Tyrant King." He teased and she flushed red, making Alucard laugh even more as Incediana tried to compose herself. "I-I'm not a-a Queen!" She shouted, pouting a little. "You are dating a King though." Muse joined in, smirking a little and Incediana strapped her axe to her back, crossing her arms. "Just because me and Alucard are dating doesn't make me a Queen...yet." She mumbled, blush still prominent as she looked away.

"We're just teasing you." Leonus said with a smirk of his own and Incediana huffed, closing her eyes...before she jumped as Alucard snaked his arms around her waist. "Don't give them a hard time Incediana, just admit it." He purred in her eyes and she flushed even more, face redder than a tomato. "Alucard, you're not helping!" She shouted, shifting from foot to foot. Lua looked back and forth, grinning up a storm as she followed the conversation, this was highly amusing. "Oh?" Alucard teased, smirking wide. "Was I supposed to be?" He questioned as he tightened his hold and Incediana blushed as his wings fanned out...he better not! "We are not flying at this very moment!" Incediana shouted, trying to glare at him but failed as her blush wouldn't allow her to look serious.

Alucard grinned but before he could do anything, Kate tapped his shoulder. "Alucard, stop flirting with your girlfriend for a few seconds and take those three to Maria." Kate commented, pointing to the three that were currently tied up. Alucard grumbled a little but let her go...only for Kate to walk past with a grin. "Then you can make love to her all you want." She teased, effectively making not only Incediana keep her blush, but Alucard to blush as well and Zaren to burst out laughing.

"Gaia, you're so blunt!" Zaren laughed out, holding a hand to his head as he laughed. "Kate!" Incediana shouted, yet Alucard merely smirked as he wrapped his arms around Incediana's waist again. "Oh, you'll be up all night long." He purred into her ear and she walked away, blush so bad she swore her face would forever stay that way permanently. "Well, we best get going." Alucard commented with a shrug, before looking back at them. "We'll be seeing you later Zaren." He said with a smirk, flying over to Incediana. "Use protection!" Zaren shouted to the Dragon Tyrant, who grinned and disappeared with Incediana and the three bound men.

"Well I get the feeling those two will be busy after work is over." Lua humed amused. Her eyes flicked to Zaren. "I should be able to move tomorrow, perhaps it would be good to try and help the village a bit more before then hnn?" She questioned and Zaren nodded with a chuckle, still amused by Incediana and her Eidolon. "Yeah, I'll take you back inside so Kate can fix up so food, I'll help Aaron with more construction." He said, standing up and having Kate follow him back to the house.

Eventually, the next day came and as Zaren awoke, he noticed Lua was awake as well. He stood up and walked over, sitting on the bed. "Better?" He asked, a tad concerned. "Oh yes," Lua sat up and stood happy to be able to move and feel her powers once again. "Feels nice to stand up again. Shall we get food first or eat while we travel?" She asked him, she was fine either way really. "How about we eat first before we head out?" He suggested, grabbing their stuff. "Most of the reconstruction is done either way, so there's not much left to do as Kate and Aaron told us we could leave the rest to them." He commented, heading down stairs with her.

"Alright, I wish my powers hadn't been shut off, I could have made repairs go so much faster." She had an amulet for an Elemental Spirit Master with her so she could use the power for a short while. "So, who lives here? I can't help but notice this is a different house." She asked and Zaren smiled at her. "This is actually a newly built house, it's meant for Envoy's who are coming and going. It has all the necessities most Envoy's need." He said as they exited the room, both going to grab food before heading out. "It's kind of a house for people to stay in if they don't know anyone in the town that they could stay with. There are several rooms in the house just in case more than one Envoy is staying in town." He explained, smiling at her.

Lua hummed in reply and was rather happy to find a fully stocked kitchen. "You've been taking care of me so it's my turn now, I'm making breakfast and this isn't up for argument." She stated her tone quite clear. Zaren chuckled a little, noting the tone. "Alright, if you insist then." He said with a smile, before going to sit at the table in the kitchen. Lua looked through the fridge but before she took anything out she called over to Zaren. "How do you like your eggs? Do you like toast? How do you feel about jam and bacon?" She didn't know what Zaren normally had for breakfast so she had to ask the questions before she started. Zaren thought for a bit, he wasn't exactly a picky eater, he'd be fine with anything.

"I don't mind jam but I prefer the bacon. As for everything else…" He trailed off a little bit. "Hm...surprise me." He ended with a smirk, he'd like to see what she would make. "Alright, so no toast then?" She asked, wanting to make certain she understood him while she gathered what she needed from the fridge. "I'd like toast as well, but don't go through so much trouble for me." He replied with a soft smile. He didn't mind she was doing this, he liked seeing her move about a kitchen, he was kind of daydreaming a little as well; wondering what it'd be like if they had a family...before he pushed it out of his mind. No need to get distracted currently, she'd probably smack him if she knew what he was thinking.

"Heh," Lua shook her head fondly. "You sound like my sister, I tend to cook for us both if I don't have a lot of reports to go over. She always tells me she gets tired watching me work." Lua laughed. She hunted down a small bowl, spatula, two plates, two forks and two glasses which were neatly set on the counter next to the stove in order of what she would be using. She hoped Zaren wasn't fond of poached eggs, she had a hard time with those things. "Hm, ah, I forgot the cheese." Sadly the cheese wasn't already grated but that was fine, she grabbed three more bowls. One she was putting the grated cheese into, the other two...Zaren wasn't certain what those were for but he didn't seem to mind. He was enjoying watching her work.

The first bowl Lua grabbed was quickly filled with four eggs and whisked, she added salt and pepper and added a small bit of cheese which she mixed in. She placed a small bit of butter on a pan she had grabbed and moved it around with the spatula, only once it had fully melted did she pour the eggs into the pan. While she waited on the eggs to begin cooking, she started toasting the bread in the toaster, in another pan that had been on the stove since she started was put into use as she placed two slices of bacon in the pan.

She stirred the eggs around making sure to flip some over so it cooked all the way, then parted it evenly between both plates, before they cooled too much she sprinkled some cheese over the eggs. The toast was done a few seconds later which she idly summoned over to the plates as she was currently flipping over the bacon. "Before I get carried away over here do you like bacon crispy?" She asked Zaren having forgotten to ask him that. "It doesn't bother me rather it be crispy or not," Zaren began, rubbing his chin as he thought, "I've never had a preference to texture when it comes to bacon. As long as it tastes good, that's all I care about." Zaren said, before leaning back in the chair. "What about you?" He asked, tilting his head a little.

"If it isn't crispy I can't eat it." She made a face as she poked the back with the tongs she was using to flip it over. "Course I also can't eat too much of it or I'll get sick, that really sucked to learn. The poor cook was scared she'd be fired." Lua shook her head at the memory. "She couldn't have known, none of us did until then." Finding the bacon to be crispy enough for her liking she put the two pieces on one plate then started Zaren's.

The toast was next, she spread cream cheese over her toast and left Zaren's plain. She'd bring butter, jam and the cream cheese to the table so Zaren could pick what he wanted to have. Soon enough, after a flip, Zaren's bacon was done and added to the plate, the last part of the meal was to be salad. She was glad to find so many vegetables in the fridge and a little surprised. Warriors back home hardly touched the stuff, they were lucky they weren't human or they would have problems. She chopped up some cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and celery, then chopped up some lettuce and arranged it in both bowls to four a another bowl shape. She placed the vegetables in another bowl then looked to the cups. She normally had tea or juice with breakfast, she looked around in the fridge noting the different pitchers. She sniffed each one identifying them; apple, orange, grape and fruit punch. She'd bring these to the table too.

Looking back at the plates everything was there; the scrambled eggs with cheese, the two slices of bacon and two pieces of toast. She nodded lifting the plates and heading to the table bringing the pitchers, the jam, the butter and cream cheese with her. Everything landed gently on the table in an organized fashion. Lua grinned. "Do tell me what you think, the cooks always say I'm good but they may not want to hurt my feelings." Zaren smiled, this stuff smelled amazing, in his opinion it smelled better than the stuff he cooked. He started with the eggs and smiled as the eggs seemed to melt in his mouth and he sighed in bliss; yep, this was definitely delicious. "This is absolutely amazing!" Zaren explained with a wide smile.

"You're a great cook, this stuff is great." Zaren said, eating more and taking a bit of the bacon; it was better crispy. _'I might just start eating bacon crispy more often.'_ Zaren thought with a smile, before grabbing the pitcher of apple juice and pouring himself a cup. He put it back and then grabbed the cream cheese before spreading it over the toast and then butter to spread it over the other slice. After he finished the eggs, toast and bacon, he began on the salad; being careful not to eat so quickly. In the wilderness he ate fast, though if he was in a village, he'd eat like a normal person. "This is really good, did you teach yourself?" Zaren asked Lua, smiling at her as he took another another drink of his juice.

"No, I learned from the cooks, I watched them often and learned by seeing. They just gave me pointers over the years and as I went to others worlds and learned more, I can easily say I know more about cooking than most people. However, many have told me my baking is worth starting a war over to get a hold of." Lua thought that was going too far, sure she made a mean strawberry cheesecake with french vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, but she couldn't be that good. Zaren hummed, wondering exactly what one of her pastries must taste like. "One of these days I'll have to ask if you could make me a strawberry cheesecake." Zaren said with a smirk, he's pretty sure he'd enjoy it either way. After they finished, they left the house before looking around, the reconstruction was almost done; Aaron and Kate walked over.

"You two heading out?" Kate asked with a smile, her Eidolon, Diao Chan beside her, waving a fan a little as she smiled at them. "Yeah, we need to head onto the other places before we get a new mission from Maria." Zaren replied and Aaron smiled. "Be careful, you know should you get hurt everyone flips." He said and Zaren laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He said with a smile, before Aaron held a scroll out to him. "Hn?" Zaren asked, grabbing it. "What's this?" He asked, looking it over. "Has your family crest on it," Aaron said and Zaren winced...he hated his family except his sister and brother. "figured you'd want to read it." He finished and Zaren nodded, before Kate and Aaron left and he sighed.

"Better not be from my monster of a father, he hasn't spoken to me since I-!" Zaren went silent as he opened it up, eyes wide and showing horror. "No...no, no, no, no no…" Zaren said before he gripped the paper tightly. "No! Dammit!" He shouted, ripping it in half and letting it fall to the ground. "How the hell did he...I mean…" Zaren was starting to breath harder, eyes fixed in a glare at the paper. "Master Zaren?" Muse asked softly, appearing beside him before she looked at the letter. Despite being ripped in two...the words 'He Has Me' in neat cursive were unmistakable. "How the hell did he get a hold of my sister?!" Zaren growled to himself, gripping his hair. "How did our father get Sarah?" He growled out, before looking at Muse.

"Muse, go find Vulkhan, let him know our dad has Sarah." He told the girl, who nodded and disappeared. "While she does that how about we head there to get her back?" Lua said her tone dark. "From what I've heard from you, we don't have the time to ask how or why, we just have to act!" If an enemy had one pinned down or friends in their grasp you didn't ask questions, you just acted.

"We'll be going to get her back...but I have a feeling there's a reason behind this." Zaren said, heading for the crystal and whistling for Gazer, the horse beside him in an instant. "Father wouldn't go after Sarah...unless he was actually trying to get me back home." Zaren said as he stood under the crystal with Gazer and Lua. "I have to talk to dad...that's the only way I'd get to see if Sarah's alright. It's time I had a 'little chat' with father." Zaren said before the crystal glowed and they were transported to a different place...it was time to see Darius Akitash.

 **Alright, so Xophillyai Envoy ends at this one but don't fear, there will be more stories coming but me and my friend both agreed that it would be best if we decided to just do short stories from now on. Seeing as it would be so much easier since I'm always busy and we don't always have a lot of idea's for long stories. It's similar to what I'm doing with Incediana...which do not worry, there are more stories of them on the way. ^^**

 **Also, thanks to DarkMousySan for helping out with these stories, you can find her on DeviantArt, as well as finding me there. Also, Lua belongs to DarkMousySan, Zaren belongs to me and the others that most of you may know are NPC's...except Maria, Darius, Incediana, Kate, Aaron, Darius Akitash which you will see him soon. Also, Akane belongs to taffybratz but most of you might know that. ^^**

 **Well, hope ya'll enjoyed and stay tuned for our short stories that shall be posted. ^^**


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